Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix

Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix
Immaculate Heart of Mary Shrine

The Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix (abbreviated CMC; Vietnamese: Dòng Đức Mẹ Đồng Công or simply Dòng Đồng Công) is a religious order within the Roman Catholic Church. The order is dominated by men of Vietnamese extraction. The unofficial title Co-Redemptrix in its name refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Congregation maintains a monastery in Carthage, Missouri, which hosts an annual Marian Days pilgrimage, the largest Roman Catholic festival in the United States.[1] Of the order's 228 members,[2] about 120 reside in Carthage.[3]

Contents

History

The Congregation was founded in 1953 by the Most Rev. Dominic Maria Trần Đình Thủ, CMC, in Vietnam.[2]

Before 1975, the congregation was relatively small in Vietnam, overshadowed by the Dominican, Franciscan, Jesuit, and Redemptorist orders, among others. In the United States, however, virtually all Vietnamese Roman Catholics are aware of the Congregation.[4] Just before the Fall of Saigon in 1975, 185 clergy – about half of the Congregation – left Vietnam as boat people and arrived in the United States at Fort Chaffee. Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, then Bishop of Springfield–Cape Girardeau, sponsored the priests and brothers, inviting them to buy a vacant Oblates of Mary Immaculate seminary, Our Lady of the Ozarks College in Carthage, for $1 for use as their U.S. monastery and shrine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.[5][2]

In 1978, the Congregation organized the inaugural Marian Days at the shrine. Around 1,500 Vietnamese Catholics from the Carthage area participated.[5]

Controversial Archbishop Pierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục died at the monastery in 1984.

References

  1. ^ "Asian Invasion" -- for Mary
  2. ^ a b c McGuire, Anthony (1999). "Marian Days Bring Vietnamese Community Together". Strangers in our Midst. Office for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. http://www.usccb.org/mrs/pcmr.old/strangers/marian.htm. Retrieved 2011-08-10. 
  3. ^ Garcia, Angela (2011-08-05). "Marian Days event in Carthage shows impressive turnout". Pittsburg, Kansas: KOAM-TV. http://www.koamtv.com/story/15218956/marian-days-event-in-carthage-shows-impressive-turnout. Retrieved 2011-08-10. "The congregation in Carthage is made up of around 120 members." 
  4. ^ Đạo binh Hồn nhỏ Việt Nam Hải ngoại (2007-06-24). "Sự nghiệp một Chi Dòng" (in Vietnamese). http://www.honnho.org/HNGiaoHoiHoanVu/ChaThu.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-02. [dead link]
  5. ^ a b Rivera, John (1998-08-10). "Vietnamese Catholics on Ozarks pilgrimage Festival: During Marian Days, the faithful honor the Virgin Mary and reunite with family and friends". The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland: Tribune Company). http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1998-08-10/news/1998222073_1_carthage-vietnamese-culture-virgin-mary. Retrieved 2011-08-10. 

See also

External links

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