The role of Vietnamese women in society and their contributions to the evangelization of the Church in Vietnam: A missiological research

This article explores the role and contributions of Vietnamese Catholic women in the development of the Church in Vietnam. The study adopts a missiological perspective to examine the contributions of Catholic women to the local Church and to offer theological reflections on the inculturation of Vietnamese Marian devotion. This study thereby examines how the fundamental values of Vietnamese women’s identity before the influence of Confucianism, their image, and their roles were partly shaped by historical myths about heroic women and the veneration of Mother Goddesses. This study also examines the cultural and social influences, as well as the state’s development policies, on Vietnamese women. The study also identifies the pivotal contributions of Catholic women to the faith life of the family and the local Church through their participation in missionary work, catechesis, community charity, and the promotion of popular piety, particularly devotion to the Virgin Mary, among Vietnamese people.