Vietnamese Lunar New Year

ROCKAWAY  Bishop Serratelli visited St. Cecilia Parish here on Feb. 3 to serve as the main celebrant of the 3:30 p.m. Mass with the faith community’s Vietnamese Catholics to commemorate the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. The celebration began with a procession, followed by the liturgy.

The Mass marked the Vietnamese New Year — the Year of the Pig, which took place on Feb. 5 this year — and was celebrated in both English and Vietnamese in St. Cecilia’s Church by priests of the Rockaway parish and visiting Vietnamese priests. According to the Vietnamese calendar, the New Year marks the year 4717. The New Year celebrations, called Tet, are the most important celebration in the Vietnamese culture.

Concelebrating priests at the liturgy from St. Cecilia’s were: Father Zig Peplowski, pastor, and Father Cerilo Javinez and Father Mateusz Darlak, both parochial vicars, along with Father Stephen Prisk, the Bishop’s priest-secretary, pontifical master of ceremonies and diocesan vice chancellor.

For about 28 years, Vietnamese Catholics, who call themselves the Vietnamese Martyrs Community at St. Cecilia Parish, have attended the 5 p.m. Mass every Sunday in the church. Father Peter Tran, a Vietnamese priest form the Metuchen Diocese, has been the main celebrant for these Masses.

Following the Mass, the community held a reception in St. Cecilia’s Hayes Hall. There, members of the Vietnamese community — many wearing traditional dress — performed traditional dances and songs. They also presented Bishop Serratelli with a cake for his 75th birthday, which takes place on April 18.