By Eileen Connelly, OSU

Br. Linh Hoang, OFM, recently served as a keynote speaker at the Asian and Pacific Island National Encounter 2024.   

Titled “Faith: The Witness of Asian Pacific and Islander Catholics,” the gathering was held July 15-17 at Indiana University as a pre-event of the National Eucharistic Congress. It was sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Islander Catholic Affairs, to which Br. Linh is a consultant.   

Br. Linh explained that the National Encounter was an opportunity to assess what has been done to implement the USCCB statement “Encountering Christ in Harmony: A Pastoral Response to Our Asian and Pacific Island Brothers and Sisters” (2018).   

“I was part of it from the very beginning and was one of the principal writers,” he said. “The event really was a culmination and celebration of that response and the faith, culture and contributions of the API community.”   

In addition to his work with the USCCB, Br. Linh also ministers as a professor of religious studies at Siena College in Loudonville, New York, and co-directs a certificate program in Asian and Pacific Islander Ministry through the Franciscan School of Theology in San Diego.   

His presentation at the National Encounter, “A Listening Heart: Spirituality and Food,” traced the theology of food through Christian history and its significance in Asian and Pacific Island cultures.   

For example, Br. Linh noted that when immigrants come to a new country, “food is a way to stay connected to their homeland, but also introduce themselves to one another. Asian families don’t always demonstrate a lot of emotion, so it’s a way for parents to express their love for their children. Food is at the center of Asian and Pacific Island culture,” he said. “It’s a way to welcome guests into their homes. It’s being nourished by mind, body and soul, but also through the presence of Jesus, the food that comes from the Eucharist.”   

 “It was really joyful and enjoyable, and there was such a vibrancy that was present,” Br. Linh said of the gathering. “It was such an opportunity for the API community to learn more from each other, consider what they can do to participate more in the Church, and a reminder of how central the Eucharist is in their lives, but also how central their Catholic faith is.”   

 “I think it energized participants in their prayer lives and in the importance of engaging with people of different backgrounds and cultures,” he added. “I’ve been to a lot of large gatherings, but there was a certain energy at this one that was clearly the Holy Spirit working through people.”

Br. Linh Hoang, OFM, gives his keynote presentation at the Asian and Pacific Island National Encounter 2024, a pre-event of the National Eucharistic Conference.