From December 18 to 21, Fr. Cristóbal Fones SJ, International Director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, made a pastoral visit to Vietnam to accompany several communities of the Network and groups of the Eucharistic Youth Movement (EYM).
The visit began with a meeting with the national team at their headquarters, where the organization and planning of the mission in the country were presented. Members shared their experiences and discussed the integration of the Network’s main projects (Click To Pray, The Pope Video, and the spiritual formation itinerary The Way of the Heart) into daily pastoral life.
The International Director also held meetings with the President of the Episcopal Conference, the Jesuit Provincial of Vietnam, and communities of the Society of Jesus, strengthening ecclesial bonds and the accompaniment of the Network’s mission in the country.
A key moment was the meeting with a large group of leaders from various branches of the Prayer Network, including choirs, spirituality groups, Spiritual Exercises guides, Apostleship of Prayer communities, and teams dedicated to The Way of the Heart. During this session, the work carried out during the year was presented, and guidelines were outlined for the next period’s pastoral programming.
During this encounter, Fr. Fones shared a reflection on the three fundamental dimensions of the mission of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network:
- To promote a personal relationship of friendship with Jesus, rooted in the spirituality of the Heart of Jesus, as the foundation of all Christian life.
- To learn to pray apostolically, placing those who suffer and the challenges of the world at the center of prayer, especially through the Pope’s prayer intentions and the daily offering.
- To accompany the Christian formation of children and young people, where the primary proposal is the Eucharistic Youth Movement (EYM), as a space for growth in faith, service, and commitment.
The journey continued with a pilgrimage to the Marian shrine of Our Lady of Núi Cúi, the celebration of the Eucharist with pilgrims, and pastoral meetings in different communities. In the parish of Hiên Hòa, which was celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Prayer Network’s traveling exhibition on the Eucharist was inaugurated. This initiative, linked to research on Eucharistic miracles and accompanied by a relic of Saint Carlo Acutis, travels through various parishes across the country and has become an important means of sharing the Network’s mission and its link with the EYM.
The visit culminated with a great EYM celebration in Ho Chi Minh City, where nearly 800 young people made their promises and renewals as animators. In a country where Christians are a minority, the vitality of the EYM (present in almost every parish with more than one million members) manifested as a true pastoral force at the service of the Church.
This journey was marked by fraternal encounters, celebrations, and cultural expressions organized by groups of the Prayer Network, reaffirming the importance of praying and serving together, in communion with the universal Church, to respond to the challenges of humanity and the mission of the Church in the Vietnamese context.
