Visiting Oblate Brought New Skills to Lowell
Lowell, MA
By Fr. Gene Tremblay, OMI
Fr. Jacques Nguyen stands in front of the posters he designed.
Vietnamese Oblate Fr. Jacques Nguyen has been living with us at the Andre Garin Residence in Lowell, MA for the past year, improving his English language skills. Returning to Vietnam shortly, he will be charged with translating all OMI documentation into Vietnamese and running the communications office there.
Fr. Jacques has considerable computer skills and is adept at handling Photoshop programs. He generously helped us design banners commemorating our Oblate martyrs – these will be displayed in the Shrine of St. Joseph the Worker on their respective feast days. One banner commemorates our Spanish Oblate Martyrs (1936) and the other our Laotian Oblate Martyrs (1960-69).
Fr. Jacques attended the North American celebration of the Beatification of the Laotian Oblates that took place in Belleville, Illinois earlier this summer and was happy to represent his fellow Vietnamese Oblates at that important event for the Church and all Oblates of Southeast Asia.
Celebrants paraded photos of the 17 martyrs before the beginning of the the Mass celebrating the Beatification of the Laotian Oblates last June at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows. (Peter Tran)