HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (UCAN) -- The recent official visit of the Franciscans' worldwide head is seen to have strengthened local Franciscans' vocation and service in Vietnam.

Father Jose R. Carballo, Rome-based minister general of the Order of Friars Minor (OFM), paid an official visit to Vietnam Feb. 23-28. He was accompanied by Vietnamese-Italian Father Ambrogio Nguyen Van Si, a Franciscan who works in Rome.

Father Francois Xavier Vu Phan Long, OFM provincial vice superior in Vietnam, told UCA News March 15, "This was the first official visit by a Franciscan minister general to us since 1975," when the country was reunified under communist rule.

Father Long, 55, noted that two former ministers general, Fathers John Vaughn and Giacomo Bini, visited in 1990 and 1999, respectively, as tourists. They stayed at hotels near the order's headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City, 1,710 kilometers south of Ha Noi, and quietly visited local Franciscans.

This time, Father Carballo "was officially allowed by the government to stay with local Franciscan communities during his six-day visit," Father Long said. He added that Father Carballo is the 119th successor to Saint Francis of Assisi, who founded the order in 1209 in Italy.

Father Long, who accompanied Father Carballo and translated for him from Italian to Vietnamese, said the minister general "was very pleased with efforts of local Franciscans in difficult situations" and appreciated their Religious life and pastoral activities. The visiting superior also urged them to give top priority to training young local formators.

For Father Long, the visit was a "sign of God's grace that strengthens our commitments amid challenges and difficulties in our life."

The minister general and his companion visited local communities of the Franciscan family, including Franciscan friars, Poor Clare nuns, Secular Franciscans and Franciscan Missionaries of Mary nuns. They also visited members of the Franciscan Youth and former Franciscans in Ho Chi Minh City and nearby areas, and met with Cardinal Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man of Ho Chi Minh City.

Father Carballo asked Franciscans who serve in parishes to have close contacts with their parishioners and share their life difficulties. He urged the Poor Clare nuns, who have a contemplative charism, to pray and persevere in their spirit of poverty.

The minister general asked local Franciscans to conserve ethnic minority cultures and traditions. "You should learn their dialects so you can evangelize them effectively," he said.

Father Carballo further urged local Franciscans to be involved in providing pastoral care for poor people, drug addicts and people with leprosy and HIV/AIDS.

In his thanksgiving speech, Father Phi Khanh Vuong Dinh Khoi, OFM provincial superior in Vietnam, told Father Carballo: "Your visit is a great blessing for the Franciscan family in Vietnam. We would like to thank you for your encouraging words to our members."

A Franciscan told UCA News that last year his congregation sent two Vietnamese members to Myanmar for evangelization work. They work there with two Franciscans from South Korea and one from the Philippines.

He said the OFM Vietnam province is the third biggest in terms of numbers after Mexico and Poland.

Set up by French Franciscans in 1929, the OFM in Vietnam has 14 communities with 176 members and 13 novices. They serve in 13 parishes, from Nha Trang diocese in the central part of the country to Long Xuyen diocese in the south. Some teach at local seminaries and Church institutes.

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