CONGREGATION OF MARY, QUEEN

Also known as Trinh Vương, abbreviated CMR. The popular name for the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the World (Dòng Nữ Tu Thừa Sai Ðức Mẹ Trinh Vương). Trinh Vương encompasses a number of diocesan institutes of indigenous Vietnamese women religious in Vietnam, Australia and the U.S.

Trinh Vương traces its origins to the lovers of the holy cross (Dòng Mến Thánh Giá ) of Bùi Chu (in northern Vietnam), a Vietnamese community of women religious founded by Pierre lambert de la motte in

1670. Over three centuries, this fledging community survived the vicissitudes of persecution and harassment as it endeavored to serve the pastoral needs of Vietnamese Catholics. In the wake of the French defeat at Ðiện Biên Phủ, followed by the signing of the 1954 Geneva Accord which divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel, the entire community fled Bùi Chu, joining the mass exodus to South Vietnam. Under the patronage of Bishop Peter Maria Phạm Ngọc Chi of the diocese of Quy Nhơn, the congregation was reorganized as a diocesan institute under its present name.

In the early 1970s, a number of sisters were sent to Sydney, Australia for religious formation. This fortuitous decision paved the way for the survival of Trinh Vương outside of Vietnam. Under the auspices of the then Bishop Bernard F. Law, Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Missouri, the Australian community was invited to establish a presence in Missouri. In 1979, three sisters arrived from Australia, establishing the first house in Springfield, Missouri. On Dec. 1, 1986, the Holy See erected the American Region of the Congregation of Mary, Queen, under the supervision of the Bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau. Headquartered in Spring-field, Missouri, the American Region of Trinh Vương serves the local Vietnamese communities in Missouri in the areas of education, healthcare, parochial, pastoral, and charitable works.

[v. t. pham]