In a social media post on April 8, the Jesuit Conference of Asia-Pacific announced the passing of Fr. Joseph Pham Thanh Liem, former provincial superior of the Society of Jesus in Vietnam, on April 6 after battling a disease.
Father Joseph served the Lord for about 50 years with the congregation, which saw him as “a humble man embraced with profound Jesuit values,” said Fr. Hoang Toan in a post on the website of the Vietnamese Jesuit.
According to Toan, Fr. Joseph demonstrated peace in God since he was a novice in 1972.
“This peace has been grounded in the rock of Jesus when he took the vow in 1974 at Pius X Pontifical College of Dalat, Vietnam,” he said.
The Fall of Saigon in April 1975 troubled the local church and the religious life, Toan recounted.
“As a scholastic, he had strived his best to survive, to serve the church and people, and to maintain his faithful commitment to God in peace,” he said.
Fr. Joseph was imprisoned during the suppression of the congregation in Vietnam.
“The experience of five years in prison had sustained his faith and conviction in Jesuit vocation,” Toan said. “He had endured this difficult period courageously and accomplished the mission in secret and hidden time.”
According to Toan, Fr. Joseph’s peace in God has sustained him and grown in Christ during the suppression.
Fr. Joseph was ordained a priest in 1995, following over 20 years of taking the vow. During peacetime, he studied in the US.
Back in Vietnam, he served in various posts. He was the librarian of the region, director of St. Peter Faber Retreat House, and chair of the Ignatian Spiritual Committee.
Fr. Joseph was the Provincial Superior of the congregation in Vietnam from November 2010 to December 2016.
“We commend his soul to God’s boundless mercy and give thanks for his life of humble service, deep faith, and unwavering dedication to the mission of Christ and the Society of Jesus,” the conference said in their post.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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