The Vatican on November 5 bestowed the Knight Grand Cross on a Vietnamese Christian for the first time. This is a most respected rank of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great, one of the five orders of knighthood bestowed by the Pope.
Forty-six-year-old Le Duc Thinh of Phuc Nhac parish in Dong Nai province’s Thong Nhat district in the south was conferred the order at a ceremony held in Phuc Nhac Church in the district.
Granted by Pope Benedict XVI, the order was awarded to Thinh through Vietnamese bishop Nguyen Chu Trinh who oversees Xuan Loc diocese.
Mr. Thinh said that the Vietnamese government and the Communist Party’s guidelines and religious policies have created good conditions for followers like him to actively participate in religious activities while contributing to national socio-economic development.
Attending the ceremony were 3 bishops overseeing Nha Trang, Xuan Loc, and My Tho dioceses, more than 120 priests and many parishioners as well as senior officials from the Vietnam Fatherland Front - a state agency acting as an umbrella for all social and political organizations in the country.
Mr. Nguyen Tuc, a member of the Front’s executive committee, told Thinh to keep up good work and always strictly adhere to the State and Party policies on national unity and religious matters.
The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great was established in 1831 by Pope Gregory XVI and is one of the five Papal Orders of Chivalry in the Catholic Church.
The order is bestowed on Catholic men and women and in rare cases, non-Catholic men in recognition of their service to the Church, unusual labors, support of the Holy See, and the good example set in their communities and country. It now has three ranks: Knight Grand Cross, Knight Commander, and Knight.
