Travel north-west from central Melbourne along tree-lined Mount Alexander Road, just past the CityLink overpass into the historic inner suburb of Flemington, and you will come upon a substantial red-brick complex occupying numbers 85 to 95 on the main avenue. Behind its understated street facade lies a lively courtyard echoing every weekend with Vietnamese prayers, four-part choral rehearsals and children reciting Vietnamese language lessons.
This is the St Vincent Liem Centre (Trung Tâm Thánh Vinh Sơn Liêm), the oldest pastoral, cultural and faith-formation hub of the Vietnamese Catholic Community in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. For more than four decades it has served both as a spiritual home for thousands of Vietnamese-Australian families across Melbourne's western and north-western suburbs and as a living bridge connecting the heritage of the Vietnamese Martyrs with multicultural life in Australia.
ISaint Vincent Phạm Hiếu Liêm and the Dominican heritage
The centre bears the name of Saint Vincent Phạm Hiếu Liêm (1732 to 1773), commonly known as Saint Vincent Liem, the first Vietnamese priest of the Order of Preachers (commonly called the Dominican Order, abbreviated OP) to suffer martyrdom in his homeland and the first Vietnamese Dominican friar raised to the altars as a canonized saint.
According to Dominican annals and Vatican canonization records, he was born Phạm Hiếu Liêm in 1732 in the village of Trà Lũ in Nam Định Province, northern Vietnam, to devout Catholic parents, Anton Doãn and Maria Đỗ. At the age of twelve he was sent by Bishop Hilario Costa to study at the Colegio de San Juan de Letrán and the University of Santo Tomás conducted by the Dominicans in Manila, the Philippines. There he entered the Dominican Order in September 1753, taking the Spanish religious name Vicente Liem de la Paz (Vincent Liem of Peace), professed his vows in 1754 and was ordained a priest in 1758.
In October 1758 Father Vincent Liem returned to northern Vietnam (Tonkin), where he taught at the Trung Linh seminary and ministered discreetly across parishes in Nam Định, Thái Bình and Hưng Yên for fifteen years. Arrested on 2 October 1773 at Lương Đống village, he was brought to the capital Thăng Long alongside his Spanish provincial superior, Father Jacinto Castañeda (known in Vietnamese as Cha Giacôbê Nguyễn Huy Điển). Although court mandarins and Lord Trịnh Sâm admired his scholarship and urged him to step over the cross to spare his life, Father Vincent Liem calmly affirmed his fidelity to the Christian faith. On 7 November 1773, he and Father Castañeda were beheaded at the Đồng Mơ execution ground. He was beatified by Pope Pius X on 20 May 1906 and canonized by Pope John Paul II on 19 June 1988 among the 117 Vietnamese Martyrs.
When the first Vietnamese Catholics arriving in Melbourne in the early 1980s chose Blessed Vincent Phạm Hiếu Liêm (prior to his 1988 canonization) as their patron, the choice carried a twofold resonance. First, he was a scholar educated overseas who returned to serve his people in the Dominican tradition of preaching and study. Second, his religious title de la Paz (of Peace) expressed the deep desire of displaced refugees to find interior peace and build a harmonious life in their new homeland.
One historical detail is worth noting: when the Vietnamese Catholic Community in Flemington was formed between 1980 and 1982 and when the centre opened in 1985, Vincent Phạm Hiếu Liêm still held the title of Blessed. Only after Pope John Paul II celebrated the canonization Mass in Rome in June 1988 did the facility's official title change from the Blessed Vincent Liem Centre to the present St Vincent Liem Centre.
IIOver four decades at the Flemington gateway
The story of the St Vincent Liem Centre begins in the earliest years of Vietnamese refugee settlement in Victoria after 1975. Unlike territorial parishes that inherited nineteenth-century stone churches, the centre in Flemington was built from the ground up by young migrant families with the pastoral backing of the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
According to the chronicles of the St Vincent Liem Vietnamese Catholic Community, on 18 August 1979 deacon Joseph Bùi Đức Tiến (who had escaped Vietnam by boat, arrived in Australia in early 1977 and completed his theological studies at Corpus Christi College, Melbourne) was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Thomas Francis Little at St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, becoming one of the first Vietnamese priests in the archdiocese. In early 1980 (archdiocesan records note appointments in January and March 1980), Father Joseph Bùi Đức Tiến was appointed chaplain to Vietnamese Catholics across Melbourne's western and north-western suburbs. He organized the community with Mr Phạm Đình Toàn as its first lay chairman and placed it under the patronage of the Dominican martyr Vincent Phạm Hiếu Liêm.
In January 1981, Father Bùi Đức Tiến was appointed Assistant Priest at St Brendan's Parish on Wellington Street in Flemington. Throughout 1981 and 1982, the chaplaincy office and regular Sunday Vietnamese Masses were anchored at Flemington, turning this inner north-western suburb into a familiar gathering point for Vietnamese Catholics across Melbourne. As the congregation rapidly outgrew the borrowed parish spaces needed for catechism, Vietnamese language classes and choir rehearsals, the community launched a fundraising campaign to acquire its own premises. In late 1984, with the approval of the Archdiocese of Melbourne, the community purchased the former Cricketers Arms Hotel property at 85-95 Mount Alexander Road, Flemington, converted the buildings into a chapel and community complex, and officially opened the St Vincent Liem Centre in mid-1985.
- 1979 to 1980Ordination of the founding chaplain and birth of the communityFather Joseph Bùi Đức Tiến is ordained at St Patrick's Cathedral in August 1979 and appointed chaplain in early 1980, founding the Vietnamese Catholic Community under the patronage of St Vincent Liem.
- 1981 to 1982Pastoral base established in FlemingtonThe chaplaincy office and regular Sunday Vietnamese Masses move to Flemington alongside St Brendan's Parish, and plans are laid to purchase a permanent centre.
- 1984 to 1985Purchase and opening of the Mount Alexander Road premisesIn late 1984 the community acquires the property at 85-95 Mount Alexander Road, Flemington, renovating it into a chapel and hall and officially opening the centre in mid-1985.
- 1988Canonization of Patron Saint Vincent LiemFollowing the canonization of the 117 Vietnamese Martyrs in Rome on 19 June 1988, the centre takes the name St Vincent Liem Centre and enshrines sacred relics of the Martyrs.
- 1990s to 2025Expansion of the language school and 45th anniversaryServed by diocesan and religious chaplains appointed by the Archdiocese (drawing on Dominican spiritual heritage and later Jesuit chaplains), the centre expands its youth and language programs and marks 45 years (1980 to 2025).
Two documentary nuances regarding dates and pastoral leadership should be noted clearly. First, references to the centre's founding in 1980 or 1981 to 1982 mark the establishment of the St Vincent Liem community and its relocation to Flemington, whereas the dedicated building at 85-95 Mount Alexander Road was purchased in late 1984 and opened in 1985. Second, regarding clergy: while the centre's patronal identity and preaching tradition are closely tied to the heritage of the Dominican Order (Order of Preachers) through St Vincent Liem, day-to-day chaplaincy over the decades has been entrusted by the Archbishop of Melbourne to both diocesan priests (such as founding chaplain Father Joseph Bùi Đức Tiến) and priests from religious orders (including Jesuit chaplains such as Father Joseph Phạm Minh Ước and Father Peter Phạm Văn Ái in recent terms). The library records both aspects accurately.
IIIRelic chapel, Shrine of Our Lady of La Vang and Vietnamese school
Rather than presenting the stone spires of a classic Gothic church like St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, the St Vincent Liem Centre exemplifies an adaptive multi-purpose pastoral and community complex converted from a historic brick building on Flemington's main thoroughfare. Every space across numbers 85 to 95 Mount Alexander Road is arranged to serve three interlocking purposes: sacred liturgy, catechetical and language education, and community fellowship.
An intimate liturgical space at the heart of the complex where daily and weekend Vietnamese Masses are celebrated. The sanctuary features a statue of St Vincent Liem in the white tunic and black cloak of the Dominican Order holding the martyr's palm, alongside a reliquary of the Vietnamese Martyrs.
A devotional shrine set within the courtyard where families and lay associations pause to light candles, offer flowers and pray before and after Mass.
Classrooms welcoming hundreds of second- and third-generation Vietnamese-Australian children each weekend for heritage language lessons, sacramental preparation and chapters of the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement.
A large gathering hall used for retreats, family seminars, charity banquets and rehearsals of long-standing community choirs including Vô Nhiễm, Bêlem, Babylon and Cecilia.
The warmth of the St Vincent Liem Chapel comes from the closeness between the altar and the pews, enriched by Vietnamese inscriptions, wood reliefs and devotional statues that recall the homeland. For many elderly Vietnamese parishioners in Melbourne, stepping through the centre's doors on Sunday morning, hearing the sanctuary bell and sharing tea with fellow countrymen in the hall afterward remains a cherished anchor of community life.
IVThe lie of the land and the facing
A clear prefatory note is required: Catholicism does not teach feng shui and does not site chapels or pastoral centres according to East Asian geomancy. The Vietnamese Catholic Community in Melbourne chose Mount Alexander Road in Flemington in the early 1980s for practical pastoral accessibility, as the site lies right at the transport junction linking central Melbourne with the western and north-western suburbs of Footscray, Sunshine, St Albans, Kensington, Ascot Vale and Essendon. What follows is the library's comparative reading through traditional Vietnamese landform principles based on the actual geography of Flemington.
Viewed on a topographical map of metropolitan Melbourne, the Flemington ridge forms a gentle spur sloping down toward the Maribyrnong River floodplain to the west and the Moonee Ponds Creek valley to the south-east. Situated at approximately latitude 37.7865 degrees South and longitude 144.9333 degrees East, the St Vincent Liem Centre stands on the high, well-drained spine of Mount Alexander Road, the historic nineteenth-century goldfields highway running north-west out of Melbourne. In traditional urban geomancy, a broad tree-lined avenue carrying steady tram and vehicular flow along an elevated ridge acts as a man-made water course that channels qi, bringing continuous vitality to the premises while keeping the foundations high above lowland flooding.
Regarding orientation and facing, Mount Alexander Road along this stretch runs diagonally from south-east to north-west. The property at numbers 85 to 95 sits on the north-eastern side of the boulevard, so the main frontage faces south-west across the wide avenue, which serves as the bright hall (minh đường). Behind the building to the north-east, the land rises gently toward the green expanse of Royal Park, providing a stable rear backing (hậu chẩm). Beyond the boulevard to the west and south-west, the low-lying open plains of the Maribyrnong River valley keep the forward horizon wide and unobstructed by high-rise towers.
In the Southern Hemisphere, cool maritime winds off Bass Strait approach from the south, yet the continuous streetscape and mature plane and elm trees lining Mount Alexander Road act as protective Azure Dragon and White Tiger arms on either flank, sheltering the inner courtyard and chapel from direct gusts. Read through traditional eyes, sitting right at the throat where inner Melbourne meets the entire north-western suburban corridor creates a natural node that gathers people, matching the centre's forty-five-year role as the flagship home of Vietnamese Catholics in Victoria.
VLiturgical calendar, patronal feast and cultural observances
Liturgical celebrations at the St Vincent Liem Centre follow the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar (Gregorian calendar), complemented by traditional Vietnamese cultural observances reckoned by the lunar calendar. The table below outlines the principal annual feasts of the community.
| Date | Calendar system | Feast or observance | Main activities |
|---|---|---|---|
| November (around 7 and 24 November) | Gregorian, Catholic liturgical calendar | Patronal Feast of St Vincent Liem and the Vietnamese Martyrs | The centre's principal annual feast commemorating St Vincent Liem's martyrdom (7 November 1773) and the 117 Vietnamese Martyrs, featuring a relic procession, concelebrated Mass and community banquet. |
| Holy Week and Easter (March or April) | Gregorian, Catholic liturgical calendar | Paschal Triduum and Easter Sunday | Solemn Passion liturgies, Stations of the Cross, the Easter Vigil and crowded Easter Sunday Masses. |
| May and August annually | Gregorian, Catholic liturgical calendar | Month of Mary and Feast of the Assumption (Our Lady of La Vang) | Floral offerings by youth groups, Marian processions honoring Our Lady of La Vang and prayers for parish families. |
| 24 and 25 December | Gregorian, Catholic liturgical calendar | Solemnity of Christmas | Christmas Eve carol vigils led by the Vô Nhiễm, Bêlem, Babylon and Cecilia choirs followed by Midnight and Christmas Day Masses. |
| First three days of the first lunar month | Traditional Vietnamese lunar calendar | Lunar New Year (Tết) Masses and Festival | New Year Masses praying for peace, ancestor veneration, blessing of spring scrolls, lion dances and longevity greetings for senior parishioners. |
Alongside its regular liturgies in Flemington, the St Vincent Liem community plays a leading role in joining Vietnamese Catholic congregations from across metropolitan Melbourne for archdiocesan celebrations at St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, contributing vibrant liturgical music and cultural witness to the wider Church in Victoria.
VILocation And How To Get There
- Address
- Getting there
- Located at 85-95 Mount Alexander Road, Flemington, about 4 km north-west of central Melbourne. Visitors can take tram route 59 along Mount Alexander Road to the stop right outside the centre, or take the Craigieburn train line to Flemington Bridge station, about a 10-minute walk away.
- Coordinates
- -37.7865, 144.9333
Visitors attending Mass or visiting the St Vincent Liem Centre are asked to dress modestly and maintain a quiet, prayerful demeanor inside the chapel and near the reliquary of the Vietnamese Martyrs. Because the complex fronts directly onto busy Mount Alexander Road with active tram tracks, visitors arriving by car should check timed parking signs along surrounding Flemington side streets and watch carefully for children arriving and departing during weekend Vietnamese language and catechism school hours.
Nearby places in the library
VIIContribute To This Page
Contribute photos, information or video for St Vincent Liem Centre
Góp ảnh, thông tin hoặc video cho Trung Tâm Thánh Vinh Sơn LiêmEveryone is welcome to enrich this page: a photo you took, a detail the page misses, a short video. Every contribution is read and answered.
Thầy Ưng Khiêm mời cộng đồng cùng làm giàu trang này. Ảnh chụp tận nơi, một chi tiết lịch sử chưa được nhắc, một đoạn video ngắn: mọi đóng góp đều được đọc và trả lời.
No community contribution yet. You could be the first. Chưa có đóng góp nào từ cộng đồng. Bạn có thể là người đầu tiên.
?Quick Questions
When was the St Vincent Liem Centre in Melbourne founded?
The Vietnamese Catholic Community under the patronage of St Vincent Liem was formed in early 1980 by founding chaplain Father Joseph Bùi Đức Tiến and based in Flemington (alongside St Brendan's Parish) from 1981 to 1982. In late 1984 the community purchased the property at 85-95 Mount Alexander Road, Flemington, and officially opened the St Vincent Liem Centre in mid-1985.
Who was Saint Vincent Phạm Hiếu Liêm?
Saint Vincent Phạm Hiếu Liêm (1732 to 1773, known in religious life as Vicente Liem de la Paz) was born in Nam Định, Vietnam, educated in Manila and ordained the first Vietnamese priest of the Dominican Order (Order of Preachers). He suffered martyrdom by beheading under Lord Trịnh Sâm on 7 November 1773, was beatified in 1906 and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988.
What facilities and ministries operate at the St Vincent Liem Centre?
The complex at 85-95 Mount Alexander Road houses the St Vincent Liem Chapel enshrining relics of the Vietnamese Martyrs, the Shrine of Our Lady of La Vang, a weekend Vietnamese language and catechism school serving hundreds of students, a chapter of the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement, a community hall and four major choirs.
Who provides pastoral care at the St Vincent Liem Centre?
Operating under the Archdiocese of Melbourne, the centre is served by chaplains appointed by the Archbishop of Melbourne. Rooted in the Dominican spiritual heritage of its patron saint and founded by diocesan chaplain Father Joseph Bùi Đức Tiến, the centre has been served across the decades by both diocesan and religious priests, including Jesuit chaplains in recent terms, working alongside a lay pastoral council.
How can visitors reach the St Vincent Liem Centre by public transport?
The easiest route from central Melbourne is tram route 59 from Elizabeth Street, which runs directly along Mount Alexander Road and stops right near numbers 85 to 95 in Flemington. Visitors can also take the Craigieburn suburban train to Flemington Bridge station and walk about 10 minutes.