Vietnamese Community

Most of Immaculate Conception's Vietnamese parishioners survived the Vietnam war. Before the fall

of Vietnam in 1975 they lived in poor regions of Vietnam experiencing fear and trauma with terrorism and bombings. Now they are thankful for the freedoms they enjoy in the United States.

On June 19, 1997 with the help of Mrs. Johanna Humphrey, retired Principal of Saint Joseph Elementary School, approximately 45 Immaculate Conception and other parishes Vietnamese parishioners gathered at Immaculate Conception Church for the first Mass in Vietnamese officiated

by a Vietnamese Pastor from Saint Patrick parish in Nashville. The Vietnamese congregation felt joy

in their hearts and prayed that they will have the opportunities to worship, to keep God's faith, and

to reach out to fellow parishioners, to their neighbors, to the sick, the poor and the lonely in our community.

Late in 1997 with the approval of the Bishop of Knoxville and Pastor of Immaculate Conception approximately 25 Catholic Vietnamese families formed a small Catholic Vietnamese Community. We started our monthly Sunday bilingual Mass offered by an out-of-town Vietnamese Priest or by the Immaculate Conception Pastor. Presently approximately 50 Vietnamese Catholic families participate in our monthly Vietnamese Mass.                                                             

Top Picture - Vietnamese Committee Meeting

                                                                                  Bottom Picture - Father Jim Haley's Farewell Lunch