Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul

The Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul is a special day for the Diocese of Phat Diem. All of the priests, deacons, and parish council members along with everyone who can come make a morning of festivities. Here are three of our seminarians who helped with parking the many buses, cars, and motorbikes.

The grounds of the cathedral have been opened up to allow for the vast number of pilgrims who come every year. Buses needed the room to turn around but there was a desire for lots of green, also, so this was a compromise.  

Here is the side of the cathedral of Phat Diem. You can see many other photos of it elsewhere on the blog. What I love is the warmth and beauty of the wood and stone. It seems to come from the earth so solide then taper off quietly to the sky.  

A view from the back of the cathedral showing the new monitors. Because of the size of the columns (each is one tree!), many parishioners could not see the altar. The monitors make a huge difference, especially for the elderly.  

After the mass, I took a picture outside the cathedral again, this time with a part of the seven stone chapels on the grounds. The sky started to look ominous, but I didn't notice.  

I got a chance to see the Eucharistic Youth concluding their morning's attendance at the mass with singing. There is nothing for the young people to do during the summer, so the parishes have summer activities for them. These are representatives from all of the parishes.  

After the mass, all of the parish council members and the priests and sisters have a huge lunch hosted by the sisters. Here are the Sisters of the Lovers of the Holy Cross who work at the cathedral. I love seeing them every year. After lunch we all sat down and talked for a long time.  

Bruce, a retired Presbyterian minister, is visiting the seminary and Fr Thiem was taking taking a picture of the two us us while Bruce decided to take a picture of Fr. Thiem.  

After all the elders and priests had left we were sitting around with the sisters and seminarians and it started pouring...and I mean pouring. We quickly unplugged the big fans and brought them under the tent. I couldn't return to the seminary for almost an hour, but it made for more time to talk, something I love to do.