On Thursday, February 11th, the Conception student body along with the brothers from the Congregation of our Mother Coredemptrix based in Carthage, MO celebrated the Vietnamese New Year, known as Tet. The celebration began with Mass in the student Oratory said by Fr. Francis, CMC. The Mass was in English but included Vietnamese hymns sung by both the brothers and the diocesan Vietnamese students from the Diocese of Cheyenne, WY, and the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, OK.
After Mass, the students congregated in the Alumni Union for a dragon dance performed by the brothers with firecrackers going off in the outside stairwell. Then dinner was served in the refectory with traditional Vietnamese appetizers. It was a wonderful opportunity for the seminarians to experience the Vietnamese culture which makes up a good portion of the student body. Tet was on February 14th this year, but was celebrated at Conception the previous Thursday because the brothers and Fr. Francis traveled to their community in Carthage, MO for the celebration on the 14th.
