Priest Peter Phan Khac Tu passed away

Priest Peter Phan Khac Tu

Father Peter Phan Khac Tu was born in 1937, the third child in a poor farming family of four siblings, his hometown is Hai Phong.

At the age of 15, he was sent to study in Van Khe parish, then studied at Chan Phuc Liem Seminary, then temporarily resided in Binh Duc, in My Tho diocese.

In 1960, he transferred to Nguyen Ba Tong High School in Saigon, and in 1962 entered St. Joseph Major Seminary in Saigon.

On May 14, 1968 at Notre Dame Cathedral in Saigon, he was ordained a priest.

Priest Peter Phan Khac Tu returned to work as deputy parish priest of Vuon Xoai (belonging to Tan Dinh diocese).

Not long after that, Archbishop Paul Nguyen Van Binh appointed him to concurrently serve as chaplain of the Catholic Youth Labor Association of the diocese, in charge of activities of Catholic youth workers.

It is also because of this job that the priest has approached progressive Catholic trends after the Second Vatican Council, guiding Catholics to be responsible for the community in which they live and to have a duty to their Fatherland.

According to the Catholic and Nationalist newspaper, in 1969, while studying in France, priest Peter Phan Khac Tu met Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh - head of the delegation of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, who was participating in the 4-party conference on peace for Vietnam in Paris.

The priest expressed his views and his desire to help with pastoral care for Catholics in the war zone. However, for some reasons, this idea was not implemented later.

Returning to Saigon, Father Peter Phan Khac Tu and a number of progressive Catholic priests supported the anti-American student movement and supported workers at the Con O battery factory on strike to demand better living conditions.

In 1972, Father Peter Phan Khac Tu went to work as a garbage collector to live and work with the poorest workers in society.

In October 1974, he was fired by the City Hall for frequently participating in protests. Although he participated in many activities, the priest always fulfilled his religious and secular duties in the spirit of loving God and people, always standing on the side of the poor.

He accepted the position of Vice Chairman of the People's Front for Famine Relief and Chairman of the Committee for the Protection of Workers' Rights.

After the country's reunification, priest Peter Phan Khac Tu held the following positions:

- Vice President of Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation, Vietnam Association for the Relief of Disabled Children.

- Member of the 8th National Assembly (1987-1992 term), 9th term (1992-1997 term) and 10th term (1997-2002 term); Member of the National Assembly's Committee on Social Affairs (from 1987 to 2002); Member of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (from 2000 to 2024).

- Permanent Vice President and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics (from 1983 to 2018), Vice President of the Central Committee of the Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics (from 2018 to 2023).

- Member of the Central Executive Committee of the Association for the Support of the Disabled and Orphans of Vietnam (from 2000 to present); Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director of the Fund "For Disabled Children of Vietnam" (from 2010 to present).

- Delegate of Ho Chi Minh City People's Council from term I to term IV; Vice Chairman of Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City (from 2018 to 2024).

- Vice Chairman of the Advisory Council on Ethnicity and Religion, Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City (from 2018 to 2024).

- Permanent Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics (from 1980 to 2016); President of the Ho Chi Minh City Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics (from 2016 to September 2023).

- Editor-in-Chief of Catholic and Ethnic Newspaper (from 2009 to present).

- Director of Thien Phuoc Center for Nurturing and Sponsoring Disabled Children (from 2000 to June 2024); Honorary Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics (from 2023 to present).

Father Peter Phan Khac Tu became parish priest of Vuon Xoai parish in 1980 and took care of the Vuon Xoai community until his retirement in 2011.

The priest organized the construction of Vuon Xoai Church in 1981. This was the first Catholic church built in the city since the reunification of the North and South.

According to the Catholic and Ethnic newspaper, in many stages, priests have quietly participated in untangling the knots so that religious activities can take place smoothly, and sectors at all levels can better understand the activities of Catholic compatriots.

Leaving his position as parish priest of Vuon Xoai parish in 2011, he is still busy with social work, having more time to take care of charity and social work. In addition to the Thien Phuoc facility built in 1999 in Cu Chi, taking care of more than 100 children infected with Agent Orange; in 2004, he opened Thien Phuoc 2 facility in An Phu Dong (District 12, Ho Chi Minh City) to take care of 60 disabled children. In 2015, he built Thien Phuoc 3 facility in Ward 16, District 8, Ho Chi Minh City.

With his great contributions to the people and society, Father Peter Phan Khac Tu has received: Second-class Independence Medal; First, Second and Third-class Labor Medals; Second-class Resistance Medal; Commemorative Medal "For the Cause of Great National Unity"; Commemorative Medal "Accompanying the Nation".

Father Peter Phan Khac Tu always upholds the spirit of dedication, friendliness, and solidarity, so everyone is easy to approach. He knows how to rely on the strength of the collective to discuss and work together.

He is truly a lasting bridge between religion and life, a lasting link between the people and the government, dedicating his whole life to the cause of national unity.

He once affirmed: "As a Catholic priest, I am attached to the Church and obey the Supreme Being. As a citizen of the Fatherland of Vietnam, I want to dedicate my life to the Fatherland and to my compatriots. From there, I found the ideal environment for my life, the Vietnam Catholic Solidarity Committee, to dedicate my life to Christ, to the country and to the people."

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/linh-muc-phero-phan-khac-tu-qua-doi-20250402061504418.htm