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Fishermen Hold Boat Procession For Feast Of Saint Peter

Updated: July 11, 2007 05:00 PM GMT
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Catholic fishermen in a southern Vietnamese parish held a boat procession with a statue of Saint Peter to ask the saint´s blessings in their life.

At 5 a.m. on June 29, the saint´s feast day, hundreds gathered at Long Huong church before starting a procession to the seashore with their parish priest, Religious and members of choirs, church associations and the parish council.

The statue was carried on a base decorated with colorful ribbons, lights and flowers in the middle of the kilometer-long procession. The people carried flags and fish-shaped balloons, sang hymns and prayed the rosary, while a brass band played.

Ten fishing boats and three longer boats then carried them offshore and past another 100 boats anchored in two lines. Parish priest Father Antoine Nguyen Kien Tu then blessed and sprinkled holy water on the boats. Boat owners and their family members made the sign of the cross as the procession passed them.

Father Tu, 46, told UCA News that after the blessing, the boats followed the procession, sailing along the beach several kilometers to pray for the saint´s intercession on behalf of their community.

According to the priest, most of his parishioners are fisher folk. They sail in the procession to pray for Saint Peter, a fisherman, to strengthen their faith and bless their livelihood.

The parish of about 2,500 Catholics in a population of 30,000 covers Long Huong town and four villages in Binh Thuan province, 1,518 kilometers south of Ha Noi.

It was founded by Catholics who fled the northern provinces of Ha Tinh and Quang Binh after communists defeated French troops in the north in 1954, he said.

Parish council member Pierre Hoang Thang told UCA News that Saint Peter has been the parish´s patron since its establishment that same year. "Our forebears wanted to follow the saint in loyal Catholic faith, amidst wartime difficulties," he noted.

They keep the annual tradition they started then, Thang said, to remind their children to trust God in all circumstances and not turn to other gods.

Immaculate Heart of Mary Sister Martha Nguyen Thi Diem Thuy, who started serving the parish in 2004, told UCA News the feast is also an opportunity for family reunions. All Catholic fishermen return home for it, Sister Thuy said.

Parishioner Marie Tran Thi Tinh told UCA News she joined the procession to pray to Saint Peter for her family. Her husband and children return home to land after fishing at sea a month at a time, she explained.

Tinh said that days before the feast, she urges all her family members to go to confession and attend daily Mass at the church. "I am happy my family members gather together at home, say prayers and receive blessings from the saint," she added.

She also said local fishermen repair their ships, paint them blue and white, and decorate them with flags, flowers and balloons. They also decorate altars on their ships.

Anna Hoang Thi Dong likewise told UCA News: "My husband and children come ashore to rest and repair our ship. Like others, we join the procession, attend Mass and have a party at home."

After the procession, Catholics returned for a Mass at the church that four other priests concelebrated with Father Tu.

The parish priest said local fishermen who are not Catholics worship Than Ca Ong, their whale god. They bury dead whales that drift to land and celebrate the Cau Ngu (praying to fish) festival on the 15th day of the fifth lunar month. They offer the whale god live pigs and other sacrifices, and perform folk songs and dances, both at the seashore and a local temple.

This year, Father Tu pointed out, Saint Peter´s feast fell on the day of Cau Ngu. But he added that the local Catholics and others live in harmony and respect each other´s traditions and beliefs.

Nguyen Qua, 70, told UCA News local Catholics have Saint Peter´s feast and others like him have Cau Ngu. But "all pray to deities to support our life and work," explained Qua, who heads a local fishery association. "We respect and give best wishes to each other on our feasts."

END

(Accompanying photos available at here)

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