
“You need to study thoughtfully, discovering yourselves… to be able to dialogue with religions and cultures” Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Nang, Chancellor of the Catholic Institute of Viet Nam (CIV), gave the above message to the students during the opening ceremony of the 2024-2025 academic year which took place at 8:00 AM on Saturday, September 14, 2024 at the CIV campus, No. 25, Street 9, Binh Tho Ward, Thu Duc City.
After invoking the Holy Spirit, Archbishop Joseph welcomed everyone present and delivered the opening speech. He announced the decree of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, appointing Bishop Peter Nguyen Van Kham as the new Rector of CIV and appointing Father Joseph Nguyen Van Am as the new Dean of Theology Faculty. After thanking the former Bishop Rector of CIV and the former acting Dean of Theology Faculty, he told the students: “The desire of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam (CBCV) is to elevate the ability of students to study at a high level and have the ability to open up to new theological reflections and dialogue with religions and different cultural traditions”.
The program continued with a speech by Bishop Peter Nguyen Van Kham, the new Rector. He thanked the first Rector and the former Dean of the Theology Faculty, and expressed his hope that the Bishops in the Episcopal Conference would always accompany him in building and developing CIV. He invited the professors and students to continue to collaborate with him and consider CIV as their family, together making this family serve more enthusiastically to the mission of evangelization with all their minds, hearts and actions.
On this occasion, Bishop Joseph Dinh Duc Dao, former Rector of CIV also thanked everyone for having collaborated with him and hoped that they would continue to accompany and collaborate with CIV. He wished that everyone would give the best of themselves through their expertise while carrying within them the mind and heart of God Himself.
The ceremony continued with the conferral of the degrees: the STL degrees awarded to 11 students; STB degrees to 26 students (22 nuns, 2 priests and 2 lay persons); STB degrees also awarded to 10 diocesan priests who finished their formation in different seminaries and began to study for STL degree.
The highlight of the opening ceremony was the Mass of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the patron saint of the CIV, celebrated by Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Nang at 10:30 AM. Concelebrating with him were 5 bishops along with about 50 priests (professors, students). After the homily, professors, lecturers, and teachers of the CIV professed their faith and took an oath of fidelity to the teachings of the Church. The Mass continued with the Eucharistic liturgy and ended at 11:45 AM with the song “Thập giá minh chứng tình yêu” (The Cross Testifying to Love).
Author: Xuan Bang
Source: CIV


