A Brief History of the Vietnamese Companions of Christ

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The Beginning - To Be Born

Vietnamese Companions of Christ (a.k.a. Dong Hanh, VCCt) first started as a group of college students from the Dac Lo Student Center (which was under the administration of the Jesuits) in Saigon, Viet Nam. These students were given a retreat by Fr. Julian Elizalde SJ (a.k.a. Fr. Thanh in Vietnamese) in 1972. After the retreat, the students formed a prayer-sharing group. Thereafter the group would usually gather together to pray and share the Good News every week. Within a year, six groups had come to life. Along with the retreats given by Fr Thanh SJ, retreats were also given by Fr. Luc SJ, Fr. Gelinas SJ, and Fr. Louis Robert SJ. These prayer-sharing groups that formed after the Ignatian retreats were often referred to as the Spiritual Exercise Group (SEG). These groups would meet individually, do their individual group activities, and each had a priest to help guide them spiritually.

By the end of April 1975, Viet Nam had become a communist country. With this new situation, the young prayer-sharing groups needed each other for spiritual support. They now did not work separately, but collabo­rated in all apostolic activities. The SEG truly became a family sharing one common spirit and one common vision. But with this difficult situation in VN, some members had to leave the country with their families. The others who had stayed back continued to live out the spirit of the SEG. The SEG continued to do their apostolic activities quietly and secretly, while gradually growing in numbers.

July 76, Fr. Thanh SJ was expelled from VN. He was later assigned to do mission work in Denver, Colorado, helping the Vietnamese refugees. At the same time, he re-contacted the former students which at the time, scattered around the world. Summer 77, Fr. Thanh SJ gave a 5-day retreat for more than twenty former and new members at the Sedalia Retreat House, near Denver, Colorado. A year later, he gave another retreat to five former members in Portland, Oregon. After the retreat, all participants decided to form a group newsletter. Fr. Thanh SJ was the editor and publisher; the other members shared the cost and content of the newsletter. Soon after the retreat, Fr. Thanh SJ went to the Philippines to serve at Savier High School in Manila.

In August 78, the first group of the Spiritual Exercise Group at Overseas started in Tigard, Oregon. Since 1975, the Vietnamese refugees were faced with a cultural and social dilemma. It was evident that the spiritual needs of the refugees were great. In 1979, SEG decided to organize an Ignatian retreat and assembly in order to find a solution to their dilemma and fulfill their spiritual needs. Sixty-five alumnus were present at the retreat and assembly. They gathered in Portland, Oregon for a 6-day retreat guided by Fr. Thanh SJ, and four days of assembly led by lay people. As a result, the SEG officially came to existence with the name: Ignatian Spiritual Exercise and the Dac Lo Group at Overseas. It came to be that their goal and mission were already established; yet the way to lead a spiritual life was still vague. The Executive Council was then selected temporarily. Their responsibilities were to seek and request a group chaplain, prepare the group by-laws draft, and to take care of the newsletter. From the Philippines, Fr. Thanh SJ contributed his spiritual guidance for the group, along with the sharings he had received from the members in VN, which were secretly sent to him. After the retreat and assembly, groups from local areas gradually came to life and began to work along with the members..

Beginning of 1980, by the request of our brothers and sisters in VN, for safety reasons, the Ignatian Spiritual Exercise Group and the Dac Lo Group at Overseas was changed to the Vietnamese Retreat Group at Overseas (VRG). While this was happening, the request for a chaplain was faced with difficulties. Yet, finally Father General Pedro Arrupe SJ decided to assign Fr Thanh SJ as the group chaplain. By the end of 81, a 7-day retreat and a six days assembly was organized in Portland, Oregon. The purpose was to evaluate what had been done the past year, and to prepare and look forward to a new era. More than seventy members attended, all had come to the agreement of adopting the General Principles (GP) of the WCLC. The GP came to be the model for the vision and mission of this young group. The members had also established three committees: the Ignatian Spiritual Exercise Formation Committee, the Executive Council of the SEG, and the Central Executive Council of the VRG. The retreat and assembly of 81 defined our way of life and mission, according to the GP of WCLC. Beginning of 1982, the GP was translated into Vietnamese. It was then distributed together with the by-laws to the members around the world. Again, many new groups came to life. At the end of 1983, the name of The Ignatian Exercise Group was changed to The Vietnamese Companions of Christ and the name of the Vietnamese Retreat Group at Oversea was changed into the Vietnamese Companions of Christ Movement.

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The Ignatian Retreat Program - The People for Others

Mid April 82, Fr. Thanh SJ started to drive around the United States to give retreats. The first retreat was in Mountain View, California, more than 90 new members attended. The next retreat was in Burbank, California, more than 80 people attended. Other retreats were held in Denver, St. Louis, Washington D.C., and Montreal, Canada. Fr. Thanh SJ started his mission in the far West and worked his way to the East. He also flew to Europe (France, Germany, and Belgium). It was evident that Fr. Thanh SJ could not have done this alone; he had Christ’s companionship. From mid-April to the end of 82', 28 retreats were organized. These retreats focused on training the Vietnamese youth about freedom and personal conviction. It also focused on helping the youth discover their true identities while keeping their hearts pure and simple and with great love. The retreats shared a new way of showing faith in Christ, by learning from Christ’s teachings.

The retreat schedule for 1983 was booked solid. There was a great need of spiritual guidance for the Viet refugees. Therefore, Fr Palsaemaker SJ, a Belgian retired priest was called to help, also Fr Michael Minh SJ, Fr Felipe Gomez SJ and Fr Gildo Dominici SJ also joined with Fr Thanh SJ in the Retreat Guidance Team every year during the summer. Since then, the retreat program for the Vietnamese overseas officially began. By 85, there were more than 150 retreats organized for more than 2,000 Viet refugees. Usually, in these retreats, about 1/3 of the members were old, while the other 2/3 were new. The majority of these retreats focused on the First Week of the Spiritual Exercise. By 86, besides the weekend and 5-day retreats, many members participated in the 19th Annotation and the 30-day directed retreat under the guidance of Canadian/American nuns/priests.

In 1987, there was a team called The Prayer Companions. They had been attending retreats for awhile. This provided them with some spiritual experience. The Prayer Companions were then trained to help the priest give the retreat. Their responsibilities were to prepare the morning prayer, examination of the conscience, reflections, and to maintain a peaceful atmosphere for the retreatants. The years of 1988-1990 held great progress for the retreats, not only in quality, but also in quantity. During these times, over 50% were old retreatants, so they knew the purpose of the retreats. The Retreat Guidance Team now included Fr. Joe Tuoc SJ, Fr. Tran Dinh Nhi, Fr. Nguyen Binh CM, and Fr. Do Quang Bien.

Since the retreats were known and loved by many people, many different retreats and seminars were provided for the different needs of the Vietnamese community, during the last nine years. In 89, retreats for teenagers’ 13-21 years of age were started. In 93, there were eight retreats for teenagers. These retreats were called Come & See and Ephata (a retreat for to-be confirmed teens). In the summer of 91, theology seminars were given by Fr. Felipe Gomez. Though Fr. Nguyen The Minh started giving 8-day retreats in 87, he focused on it more in 91. By 97, retreats were also given in Europe by Fr. Joe Nguyen Trong Tuoc SJ. These are some examples of retreats and seminars that have been provided for members, non-members, other religious organizations, individual/group retreats that did not belong to a specific community, local parishes, different locations in the world, etc. After the retreats, people returned back to their daily activities (family, education, parishes, work). One last point is the Retreat Guidance Team now includes Fr Dominic Hung Nguyen SJ, Fr. Louis Robert SJ, Fr. Do Ba Long SSS, Fr. John Francis Toan Vu SJ, Fr. Hoang Tien Doan SJ.

The Ignatian Retreat Program, started and supported by the VCCt, is continuing to reach out to the Vietnam­ese communities. We continue to answer the spiritual needs of our brothers and sisters. As time goes by, Vietnamese pastors realize that the Ignatian retreats are necessary, and are a useful tool in which God has been using to renew His Church in many places today.

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The VCCt Chaplain/Spiritual Guides/Ecclesial Assistance (EA)

The first chaplain of the VCCt was Fr. Julian Thanh Elizalde SJ. He is a Spanish Jesuit who was one of a former director at the Dac Lo Student Center. He had also held professorship at some universities in Saigon. Fr. Elizalde SJ is fluent in English and Vietnamese. Beginning of 1991, he became the World Ecclesial Assistant for WCLC. Fr. Gildo Dominici SJ, an Italian Jesuit replaced Fr. Elizalde SJ as EA. He also speaks fluent Vietnamese and English. Fr. Dominici SJ was a former professor of the St. PIO X Institute in VN. In the spring of 93, Fr. Dominic Hung Nguyen SJ replaced Fr. Dominici SJ. He was a Vietnamese refugee, and came to the US in late 1979. He then continued his life in the Jesuit Novitiate in Portland, and was ordained as a Jesuit priest in 92, in the Oregon Province.

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The Dong Hanh Newsletter

The Dong Hanh (VCCt) Newsletter has been the special tool to guide, bond and communicate with our mem­bers. The Dong Hanh Newsletter has been used for the members to share their faith journeys and every-day life experiences. The prayer-sharing groups in VCCt also have shared their group’s experiences of triumphs and hardships, and how they dealt with it. Groups also shared the different activities they have done. Quietly in our homeland, our brothers and sisters there too, contribute in their sharings. The Newsletter began in 1978 in Manila, Philippines by Fr. Thanh SJ and has been going for 21 years now. It is run mainly by lay people. Over the years, the responsibility of publishing and distributing the Newsletter all over the world has been given to many members throughout North America.

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Other Means of Communication

Recently, VCCt has taken advantage of the progressing technology available. There is an e-mail system, which includes about 300 e-mail addresses. This up-to-date technology help members communicate, study, learn, and work together at a much faster pace. Along with this, is the Bible Project that helps spread and share the Good News of the Lord to the World Wide Web (WWW). It is written in two languages, English and Vietnam­ese. Since the VCCt is divided in to regions, each region also has their own web homepage to introduce them­selves.

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The Companions - We Make Our Way by Going - CLC

From the beginning, members would gather together after the Ignatian retreats in order to maintain the same praying-sharing atmosphere which they have in the retreats. Since these groups were still new, they did not have a real agenda to follow. After 83, training documents and materials were distributed to all the groups. The Ecclesial Assistant would also stop by to visit and guide the groups. With the given materials, the groups came to have a clear mission. In 82-87, some of the members took the CLC training courses; this formed the Training Team. This also made the annual retreat and assembly more organized and efficient. Yet, things still needed to be improved; the application of the role of guides and coordinators was not yet efficient.

By the end of 87, according to CLC standards, some of the groups started to enter the “pre-community” phase. After 88, the Vietnamese Companions of Christ now knew how to distinguish the role of guides, coordinators, leaders and members. Yet, the application of these roles was still vague. Within each group, the level of the members was different. Each group seemed to have its own characteristics, which depended upon its own situation and local needs. By the end of 1989, the Vietnamese Companions of Christ had about 800 members. The members belonged to about 40 different prayer-sharing groups, which followed the CLC ways. Within these groups, there were about 120 members that were committed to living out the CLC way of life through following the GP.

At the assembly in 1990 in Portland, Oregon, members made plans to decide on the subject of being affiliated with WCLC on behalf of the whole movement. In 91, VCCt was listening to God, to find out what He had planned out for the movement. At this time, the movement’s activities seemed to quiet down. In the years 93­94, the movement faced an identity crisis. Questions about the name being inappropriate, and the mission as a movement, etc came about. But by God’s love and grace, at the end the members reconciled and again united as one.

In 1994, delegates were sent to represent the VCCt in Hong Kong, just as in 1990 in Mexico. VCCt also sent delegates to the International Encounter for Jesuits and CLC in Rome of 95. By 1995, there were some groups that were in the process of becoming CLC communities. At the convention of 96, after the topic of CLC Cha­risma, members of the assembly again, confirmed and decided to join WCLC. Continuously during 94-97, Fr. Thanh SJ often came to the US and Canadato guide more than nine different training courses at designated locations. The courses usually included individual discernment, communal discernment, CLC vocation, and CLC Charisma etc.

Looking back at more than 25 years of existence, the VCCt has been a small non-profit organization. We have more heart than experience. By the grace and love of Christ, we continue to grow and serve our brothers and sisters of Christ. From local areas in the Vietnamese communities, other parishes, our homeland, refugee camps, etc. By the burning flames of the Holy Spirit, we continue to support our apostolic work, the Retreat Program, the Newsletter (Dong Hanh), the Bible Project, etc.

Like our Holy Mother Mary, the VCCt sings with joy in our hearts the Magnificat to God. Rejoicing that Christ our Companion has chosen us to serve him, though we are unworthy.

My soul magnifies the Lord

And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

For he has looked with favor on the lowliness of His servant. For the Mighty One has done great things for me, And holy is His name, most Holy, most Almighty....