“It is important to explore how the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement succeeds at meeting the pastoral needs of this young population as well as to document its contributions to nurturing the faith and encouraging vocations to the priesthood and religious life in the U.S. Catholic Church. ”
Vietnamese Americans are one of the U.S. Catholic Church’s largest and fastest-growing ethnic groups, producing a disproportionately large number of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Building on the core questions of our previous Louisville Institute funded research, this study examines the impact of a key component of this phenomenon, the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement in the U.S.A.. This is one major popular youth group organization among Vietnamese American Catholics and is believed to have produced a high number of religious and priestly vocations. While this organization is connected to an international Church movement for the formation of youth, the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth is distinctive because of its attention to the language and culture of Vietnam in its formation of children and young people in the United States. As such, it is important to explore how well the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement succeeds at meeting the pastoral needs of this young population as well as to document its contributions to nurturing the faith and encouraging vocations to the priesthood and religious life in the U.S. Catholic Church. Additionally, by surveying the participants, this study will identify areas where VEYM can improve in ministering the youth.