After about a year of discernment between the Hmong community of St. Vincent de Paul in St. Paul and parishioners of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Maplewood, the two communities merged at Presentation. The process began with an invitation from Archbishop Bernard Hebda in January of 2023.
Father Peter Toulee Ly, pastor of Presentation, told “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley during an interview debuting at 9 p.m. Aug. 2 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM, that the month of transition has been a beautiful experience. Father Ly’s home parish growing up was St. Vincent de Paul. When asked if his family left the parish to follow Father Ly after his ordination, Father Ly said, “No, thank God, as they should be following Jesus.”
But with Father Ly’s history at both parishes, he said, “I’m super excited just for the opportunity for my family here at Presentation of Mary to meet my family from St. Vincent’s and get to know each other, but also to help both communities to come to understand each other’s culture as well.”
Father Ly recognized the hesitation in the Hmong community to change parishes, noting that change is hard for anyone. But that the opportunities at Presentation are significant, he said.
“The campus here at Presentation of Mary’s huge,” Father Ly said. “The Hmong community at St. Vincent’s, they were actually outgrowing the space because in the last two years they really had no more room for fellowship, for faith formation, so thank God the rectory was empty. They had to find all the open spaces available in the rectory to do faith formation, studies and meetings. Here at Presentation, having a school, having a parish center, having a big church, there’s so much space here. The opportunities have just been opened up for them for small groups and whatever else.”
Additionally, Father Ly said, the move will allow parishioners of St. Vincent de Paul to see how large the Catholic Church is.
“As a small community, sometimes we get so caught up in ourselves that we become siloed,” Father Ly said. “Now becoming part of Presentation of Mary church, it’s like ‘Check out the Catholic Church. It’s a lot bigger than just St. Vincent’s, and there’s a lot more different people, too. The resources in regards to faith formation for young people and adults will be open to them. Having a parish center where there’s people employed that are available throughout entire week to help them to grow in the life of the Church is going to be great and awesome, especially in just taking part in the different ministries and getting to know their neighbors. That’s one thing I’m excited for, is for them to get to know their neighbors beyond the Hmong community.”
To hear more about the move from St. Vincent de Paul to Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and its impact on the Hmong community, tune into “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. Aug. 3 and 2 p.m. Aug. 4.?????
The program also includes a discussion with Colin Miller from the Center for Catholic Social Thought at Assumption in St. Paul about his new book, “We are only Saved Together: Living the Revolutionary Vision of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement.” Additionally, Jennifer Sustacek talks about what it’s like to be a mother to a priest, recently-ordained Father Ryan Sustacek. ?????
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the program can also be heard after it has aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.?
