Tét, known in the United States as the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, is a weeklong celebration including cleaning house, visiting elders, remembering ancestors, and preparing to welcome a new year of prosperity and blessings.

Bishop John Noonan concelebrated Mass at St. Philip Phan Van Minh Parish in Orlando, Jan. 29, 2025, as the Vietnamese community celebrated the New Year with a colorful Liturgy and voices raised in song. In his homily, Bishop Noonan called attention to the Jubilee Year of Hope and spoke of the faith, hope and perseverance of Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen van Thuan, who spent 13 years in prison, nine of them in solitary confinement.

In the cardinal’s book, Prayers of Hope, he noted how he “created space in his mind and in his heart to think of God and the people,” Bishop Noonan said. “He saw hope, not despair. That hope gave him the love of Jesus Christ in his heart and in his life.” The bishop recalled the courage of many of the Vietnamese people who left their country, often in difficult circumstances, for a better life. He encouraged them to be that hope for others.

By Glenda Meekins of the Florida Catholic staff, January 31. 2025