The Holy Year 2025 officially opens with the opening of the Holy Door on the evening of December 24, 2024. The Church begins the journey of “Pilgrims of Hope”. To make the journey of living the Holy Year more qualitative and bring more fruit to the Church, Vatican News Vietnamese opens a short story writing contest with the theme: Hope and Reconciliation.

We are all pilgrims in this life. No pilgrim can walk without harboring some hope in his heart. Hope gives us the motivation to walk, the goal to aim for, the strength and perseverance to not give up when facing many difficulties and challenges.

For those who put their hope in Jesus Christ, the Holy Year becomes a wonderful opportunity to live the faith and joy of a journey of hope and reach the destination together. This is a special time for all believers to practice reconciliation with God, with themselves, and with each other.

For the Vietnamese people in particular, the year 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the turning point of 1975. It is undeniable that this event has caused much destruction and even prolonged conflicts between Vietnamese people. However, from the perspective of faith and in the spirit of the Holy Year, believers are convinced that: “All things work together for good for those who love God” (Rom 8:28). We believe that the bad and evil things that people have done to each other, God can always turn into good things to bring benefits to more people (see Gen 50:20). Through all the ups and downs of suffering, we realize that God is the master of all history. God’s providence is the source of all hope. Therefore, for Vietnamese people, whether living in Vietnam or around the world, 50 years is an occasion to look back, to reflect, to give thanks, and to heal their wounds. The Holy Year is an opportunity for people of the same bloodline and origin to give each other trust and look forward to a hopeful future, for themselves and for future generations.

Vatican News Vietnamese wishes to contribute to the meaningful celebration of the Holy Year 2025 with a short story contest with the theme: “Hope and Reconciliation”.

Rules:

1. Short stories must describe the life of Catholic faith in accordance with the theme “Hope and Reconciliation”

2. Participants: professional and non-professional writers, both at home and abroad

3. Language: Vietnamese

4. Each story must not exceed 3,000 words.

5. Each author must submit a minimum of 3 stories and there is no limit to the number of entries

6. Entries will only be accepted via email and must be sent in a text format (.doc, .docx)

7. Valid entries must include the following information on the first page:

– First name, surname and first name
– Pen name
– Year of birth
– Address
– Parish, diocese
– Phone number (+ country code)
– Email

8. Each entry will be entered into the file according to the first submission, no subsequent edits will be accepted

9. The entry has not been published in any books, newspapers or media platforms

10. How to submit an entry:

– Email to: tiengviet@vaticannews.va
– Email subject line structure: [HOPE AND RECONCILIATION] – Author’s name – Diocese

11. The author will receive a response from Vatican News Vietnamese that the entry has been received within 3 working days

12. Time for receiving entries: from the opening day of the Holy Year 24/12/2024 to 30/09/2025

13. The contest includes 6 official prizes and 5 prospective prizes:

– One first prize: 25 million VND
– Two second prizes: 10 million VND each
– Three third prizes: 05 million VND each
– Five prospective prizes: 01 million VND each

14. The entries will be coded and posted on the website of Vatican News Vietnamese.

15. Vatican News Vietnamese will retain the copyright of the winning works and will be used to adapt them into multimedia for Vatican News Vietnamese media channels

16. The results of the contest will be announced on December 1, 2025 on the Vatican News Vietnamese website

17. The award ceremony will be held online and broadcast live on the Vatican News Vietnamese Youtube channel on December 15, 2025