In
the remote highlands of Vietnam, a broken statue of the Virgin Mary and the
quiet resilience of people with leprosy reveal a profound mission of healing,
dignity, and faith.
Father
Tri’s mission in Kon Tum has led him to a special devotion for Our Lady of Măng
Đen, a mysterious statue with a missing nose and broken hands was discovered by
accident after the Vietnam War.
The
image, a replica of Our Lady of Fatima, was brought to the area during the war,
in 1971. The small statue was damaged due to bombings, and eventually
forgotten, when the surrounding area became desolate as the people in the
villages left. The image remained there, lost in the jungle until 2006. The
government had gone into the highlands to develop roads, but the Virgin had
other plans. When reaching within a mile of the site of the lost statue,
excavation machinery continuously broke down for unknown reasons.
“During
road construction, machinery kept breaking down near a hidden spot in the
forest. Eventually, workers found a statue buried in the weeds its face
deformed, its hands missing. They tried to restore it, but the repairs never
held.”
People
began to see a deeper meaning. Our Lady, just as she has in countless
apparitions, seeks to resemble those who need her most.
“She
was like the people in the leprosy colonies — disfigured, rejected, but still
full of grace. That’s why they call her Mother of the Lepers. They know she
understands.”
Leprosy
is not just in the Bible — and not just in Vietnam
Leprosy,
also known as Hansen’s Disease, may sound like a condition from biblical times,
but it is still a painful reality for thousands of people today, particularly
in some of the world’s poorest and most isolated communities.
In
the Gospels, Jesus encounters and heals people with leprosy — a term then used
broadly for visible skin conditions that caused social and religious exclusion.
In ancient Israel, lepers were shunned, declared ritually unclean, and forced
to live apart from society.
Today’s
leprosy, Hansen’s Disease, is a chronic infectious illness caused by a
slow-growing bacterium, Mycobacterium leprae. It primarily affects the skin,
nerves, and eyes, and if left untreated, can lead to deformities, nerve damage,
and disability. Many loose limbs after living with this painful disease for
years.
But
there’s good news: leprosy is now curable with regular multidrug therapy over 6
to 12 months. The World Health Organization provides treatment for free, yet
many people living in remote or marginalized communities still go undiagnosed,
untreated, or live in shame and fear.
Vietnam
is one of more than 120 countries that still report new cases of leprosy each
year. While leprosy is rare in the US, with around 225 new cases reported
annually out of the global 200,000, it remains endemic in many parts of the
world, particularly in South Asia and Central Africa.
In
many of these places, those affected live in colonies or villages far from
medical care, often rejected by society and cut off from the sacraments.
From
the time of Christ to today, the Catholic Church has been at the forefront of
ministering to those with leprosy by not only by providing medical care but by
restoring dignity through presence, accompaniment, and sacramental life.
One
of the most famous missionaries to leprosy patients was St. Damien of Molokai,
a Belgian priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts. In the 19th century,
he volunteered to serve on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, where leprosy
patients were forcibly exiled. He lived among them, built chapels and houses,
touched the untouchable, and eventually contracted the disease himself. He died
in 1889 and was canonized in 2009.
Others
have followed in his footsteps, like St. Marianne Cope, a Franciscan sister who
also served in Hawaii, and missionaries around the world today, from the
highlands of Vietnam to rural India and East Africa, who carry out the work of
mercy with compassion, creativity, and Eucharistic love.
The
Pontifical Mission Societies support many of these efforts in mission dioceses
where leprosy remains present. Today, missionaries like Father Tri Pham and
religious sisters across Vietnam continue this legacy — not only by offering
medical assistance, but by reminding those afflicted that they are not
forgotten.
Article
by Ines San Martin, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at the TPMS
national office. Please remember the
Pontifical Mission Societies when making or changing your will.
