June 14, 2003, is considered the historical beginning of the Rogationist presence in Vietnam because on that day I arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport as a pioneer in the launch of a Rogationist mission project after two years of study and preparation. I left Manila late at night on the feast of St. Anthony of Padua who has always accompanied our adventure in this country. In terms of chronology, it can rightly be considered the beginning of the Congregation's journey of sharing the Rogationist charism and mission in this blessed land. In retrospect, however, the Rogate was planted in this ecclesial and geographical context long before my arrival. After all, the Rogate traces its origins to Jesus in the context of his public ministry in Palestine. Our Founder, St. Hannibal, was amazed at how little attention had been paid to this command of the Lord over many centuries. But we must also admit that, in spite of this, the Rogate has always been at the very heart of the Church.
In my experience in Vietnam, I was fascinated to discover how much the command of the Rogate was fervently fulfilled in the local context. I had an experience similar to that of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They returned to Jerusalem eager to share their encounter with the Risen Lord, but they were greeted by their fellow disciples in the Cenacle with the proclamation, "The Lord is risen!” As a Rogationist, I thought I was bringing the Rogate to Vietnam, but I was pleasantly surprised when the faithful in this country confirmed to me that they too carry the message I had come to proclaim.
For example, the prayer to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into the harvest was already common in Vietnam, popularized by a song often sung during Holy Mass and especially during the Eucharistic Adoration for Vocations every Thursday. Then, on my first Easter in 2004, a Jesuit priest friend invited me to participate in the overnight youth gathering for catechesis, reflection, and prayer for vocations in a diocese on the occasion of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the day we Rogationists consider to be our day par excellence. Thousands of young men and women participated. Later I learned that this is a common event in the dioceses. In addition, vocation clubs for children and youth are common in the parishes.
The response to the command to pray for laborers and to be laborers in the mystical harvest of the Lord is very profound in this country. When I have the opportunity to share our charism with the bishops, clergy, and religious I meet, they receive it so enthusiastically. I think this is mainly because they existentially understand the value of the Rogate in a context where Christians are a minority, where the harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few. So, I felt that I was not saying anything new to them, but that I was also receiving the witness of the local faithful to the same value that we share: the prayer for vocations and the charity toward our neighbors, especially those who are the least.
Recently, I had a remarkable discovery that clearly proves that the Rogate preceded me in Vietnam much earlier than I could have imagined. Among the manuscripts in the Historical Archives of the General Curia of the Congregation in Rome, there is a list of the Sacred Allies divided by continent. It was not dated, but the context indicates that it was written around 1911 when St. Hannibal was in the prime of his apostolate of the Rogate. The Sacred Alliance was initiated by St. Hannibal in 1897 as a spiritual association of bishops and priests who shared the cause of prayer for the evangelical workers in the mystical harvest, as a response to the command of the Lord Jesus Himself: Rogate.
The list included two bishops in Vietnam: the French Bishop Eugene Marie Joseph Allys, MEP, who was Vicar Apostolic of Cochin China (now the Archdiocese of Hue) from 1908 to 1931. The other is the Spanish Dominican Bishop Nicasio Arellano, Vicar Apostolic of Eastern Tonkin (now the Diocese of Hai Phong) from 1906 to 1919. The spirit of the Rogate and the crusade of St. Hannibal reached Vietnam through the embrace of the cause by these two Vicars Apostolic, who were our Sacred Allies. However, what amazed me, even more, was to discover that, similar to Vietnam, many of the local Churches outside Italy where we are now working in the world had a Sacred Ally as Bishop: in the Philippines (including the Archdioceses of Manila and Jaro, and the Apostolic Nuncio), South Korea, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, the USA, Canada, Germany, and Portugal. It is just mind-blowing to realize the powerful action of the Holy Spirit in the living history of the Congregation.
Certainly, 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the Rogationist presence in Vietnam. From a broader perspective, however, it is only one point in the continuous line of the movement of the Holy Spirit, who generously lavishes the charismatic gift of the Rogate in the hearts of the faithful and in the bosom of the local Churches. St. Hannibal has instructed us to take care of an accurate and punctual account of the history of the House, not so much as a record of events and facts, but as a recognition of the action of Divine Providence in the continuing "journey of the little caravan" of the Institute. Remembering is always linked to gratitude. But not only. Our gratitude for God's continuing love and mercy should be translated into our generous concrete response to His grace in the present and the future, for our history in Vietnam is, after all, a work in progress.
by Fr. Jose Maria Ezpeleta RCJ
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Currently, the Rogationists of Vietnamese origin are 34, divided into the following categories:
priests: 11; deacons: 3; religious students in perpetual vows: 4; religious students in temporary vows: 11; novices: 5
And 16 candidates in the pre-novitiate stages: postulants: 4; aspirants: 12
