Our Founder and the humble beginnings…
Reverend Bernard Maria Bùi Khải Hoàn, CRM (1919 - 2006)
Dominic Bùi Quang Trung was born on November 24th, 1919 at Trà Lũ, Trà Đoài, Xuân Trường, in the Nam Định province, of the diocese of Bùi Chu, Vietnam. He received the Sacrament of Baptism on November 30th, 1919, and received Saint Dominic as his patron saint.
Dominic entered the seminary at Bùi Chu. On December 14th, 1947, Father Dominic was ordained a priest at Quần Phương – Bùi Chu. He chose his motto as:
“ADVENIAT REGNUM SACRATISSIMORUM CORDIUM”
"May the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary come"
After his ordination, he was made assistant pastor of Thức Hóa, Bùi Chu, and was made a spiritual director for the Daughters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary and the Trung Linh seminary.
Because Father Dominic wanted to dedicate himself more fully to God, he requested to enter the Congregation of the Mother of the Redeemer (formerly know as the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix), an entirely new Vietnamese order. On February 2nd, 1953, Father Dominic entered the novitiate of the Congregation of the Mother of the Redeemer (CRM), and received his new name: “Bernard Maria Bùi Khải Hoàn,” according to the custom of the congregation. Father Bernard made his first vows on March 25th, 1954.
"Jesus said, 'Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'" - MATTHEW 19:14
Father Bernard assigned to build up the Congregation of Mary, Queen of the World…
On November 11th, 1954, Father Bernard was sent by his superior, Father Dominic Trần Đình Thủ, CRM, to Bùi Chu to take care of a small associate group of women known as the Lovers of the Holy Cross fleeing northern Vietnam.
In February 1956, Father Bernard brought these women from My Tho to settle in Bùi Môn, Gia Dinh (which is Saigon City today). From 1957 on, Father Bernard wholeheartedly helped this associate improve in numbers, finance, and spirit.
In May 1959, Father Bernard wrote and revised the Constitution and statutes, and requested to change the name of the associate to the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Mary, Queen of the World, our Mother Community.
Community is located in the Archdiocese of Saigon, Vietnam. In 1975, some of our sisters escaped the threat of the Vietnamese Civil War by moving to Australia. Later, they moved to Springfield, Missouri and from there, several sisters came to serve in Lincoln. By 1998, the Community in America became a Region of the Motherhouse in Vietnam.
The Sisters living in Lincoln, with the desire to remain faithful to the original charism of the Mother Community, received permission from their founder, Father Bernard Maria Bùi Khải Hoàn, and the current Superior General at that time in Vietnam to maintain their constitutions independently of the Region. The Diocesan Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Mercy was established by Bishop Bruskewitz on May 4, 1999.
