Easter Celebration Honors Six Years of Claretian Vietnamese Youth Ministry in Japan

On May 5, 2026, around 150 Vietnamese youth, together with several Japanese parishioners, gathered at Kadoma Church for a joyful yet emotional Easter Season Mass and farewell celebration.

The Mass was celebrated by Fr. Paul Y, CMF, who will soon begin his new assignment in the Kyoto Diocese. The celebration was followed by a farewell party filled with gratitude, memories, and heartfelt emotions.

The Vietnamese youth community, formed six years ago by Fr. Stephen Nang, became the only group in Japan known as the “Claretian Youth.” Over the years, the ministry flourished through regular gatherings and twice-weekly Vietnamese Masses, becoming a source of faith, friendship, and spiritual support for many young migrants.

The May 5 gathering also marked the final Vietnamese Mass for the group, bringing to a close six meaningful years of vibrant youth ministry and the end of the only Claretian youth group in Japan. Though the celebration was filled with smiles and thanksgiving, many unspoken emotions and memories were reflected in the faces of the young people who had journeyed together in faith and community.