(Fr. Vincent Leclercq, an Assumptionist who teaches at the Catholic Institute in Paris, recently visited Vietnam. Fr. Vincent, who is also a medical doctor, earned a Ph.D. in medical ethics at Boston College several years ago and lived at the Assumptionist Center in Brighton. The following article which he wrote appeared in the October issue of the newsletter of the French province of Assumptionists.)

Interviewer – Fr. Richard, would you share with us a bit about your background: family, childhood and early education?

Fr. Richard – May sister and I were born in Worcester, MA. Our parents, while born here, were of French Canadian descent. My father was a machinist by trade. Growing up in Worcester, our parish was St. Joseph’s which has since closed. My vocation grew out of my family’s witness of the faith and their support, which did not ‘count the cost.’

By Christopher Lushis

As an undergraduate student I first took steps to learn about prison ministry.  A friend of mine was the chaplain for the South Bend Juvenile Correctional Facility in Indiana, and he invited me to join him.  While this was an environment I had never experienced before, being able to minister to people close to my own age – primarily through praying the rosary, reading Scripture, and answering questions about Theology and life in general – provided a foundation for my own ministry that I hoped to build upon in the future.

On Saturday, November 24, 2012 in his hometown of Laranjal, in the state of Minais Gerais, Br. Celio Firme, A.A., was ordained at the hands of Most Rev. José Geraldo da Cruz, A.A. bishop of Juazeiro. A big crowd attended the festivities including his large family, his brother Assumptionists, members of the Assumption Family, parishioners of his home parish, Immaculate Conception, and many friends. The week prior to the ordination a large contingent of young Assumptionists organized a week of mission in the town to prepare everyone for the celebration. In addition to the regular slate of talks, there was special attention paid to young people interested in a vocation to the religious life and priesthood.