The Catholic Church in northern Vietnam marked the Lunar New Year by strengthening long-term support for people affected by leprosy with the construction of a permanent home for patients following the closure of a state-run camp last year.
On Feb. 21, the Diocese of Thai Binh gathered leprosy patients at Dong Tho Sub-parish Church of Thai Sa Parish in Hung Yen province for a thanksgiving Mass and community celebration.
The initiative comes months after authorities dissolved the Van Mon leprosy camp in June 2025, according to a report by Caritas Thai Binh.
Since then, several patients have been housed and cared for at the pastoral building of Dong Tho Sub-parish, while others living with their families across the diocese returned for the New Year gathering.
Church leaders said the new building under construction will serve as a stable, long-term shelter, providing patients with a safe environment and sustained care.
Bishop Dominic Dang Van Cau of Thai Binh presided over a Mass, attended by priests, deacons, men and women religious, seminarians, benefactors, and parishioners.
In his homily, the prelate urged the faithful to view leprosy patients as integral members of the Church, describing them as “the suffering members of Christ today.”
He said welcoming and accompanying them is not merely charitable outreach but a concrete expression of communion within the Church.
Reflecting on the Gospel of the Saturday after Ash Wednesday, he called on Catholics to live Lent through concrete acts of solidarity rather than external practices alone.
When people open their hearts to the suffering of others, he said, the light of faith shines amid the darkness of illness and stigma.
Quoting the Gospel of St. Matthew, the bishop reminded the congregation: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
He invited the faithful to embrace humility and conversion during the diocesan Jubilee Year, which marks the 90th anniversary of the diocese’s founding.
He said the Jubilee is not only a commemoration but also a time for renewal and return, encouraging believers to recognize their own need for mercy so they can more readily extend compassion to those in difficult circumstances.
In his closing message, the bishop described welcoming the new spring during Lent and the Jubilee Year as welcoming “a season of light and hope — light kindled by small but sincere acts of kindness, and hope nurtured by love for the suffering members of Christ within the diocese today.”
