The QuiNhon Missionary Sisters of the Holy Cross has its roots in present-day An Chi – Quang Ngai, Vietnam. Bishop Lambert de la Motte, the first apostolic vicar of Cochinchina (South Vietnam), founded a woman community there in 1671 to evangelize non-Catholics and to guide the faithful towards a life of Christian perfection. From eight members at the beginning, the community quickly grew in numbers. New communities were established throughout South Vietnam. In 1850, when the Cochinchina vicariate was divided into two dioceses, six communities consisting of 120 members existed in the Eastern region. 

When the Diocese of QuiNhon was established in 1924, these communities officially became the Lovers of the Holy Cross of QuiNhon. Bishop Damien Grangeon unified the communities, instituted a Constitution, and validated the vows in accordance with the Code of Canon Law of 1917.

In 1972, two sisters came to study in San Francisco. However, with the Fall of Saigon in April 1975, they were prevented from returning to their home country. Any form of communication the sisters had to the motherhouse was lost. As they anxiously waited for their future to unfold, they witnessed an influx of Vietnamese refugees arriving in the Bay Area. It was to these Vietnamese refugees that the sisters first offered their services. They worked in hospitals and served at various parishes with a Vietnamese population in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. One sister served in the catechetical program for the Vietnamese mission in San Jose.

In 1986, the sisters established their first community in Daly City in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, and named themselves in English as QuiNhon Missionary Sisters of the Holy Cross. 

In 1993, Bishop John Cummins of Oakland invited the sisters to serve in his diocese. With the increased number of vocations, the sisters established their Novitiate house in 1994 and Aspirancy house in 1995 for the formation of sisters. Within the Oakland diocese, the sisters serve in the areas of faith formation, pastoral care, education, and health care.

Expansion continues to take place as the sisters were accepted by Bishop Patrick McGrath to serve in the Diocese of San Jose in 1998. The sisters serve at St. Maria Goretti Parish (1998), Most Holy Trinity Parish (1998), Christ the King Parish (2010), and Our Lady of Refuge Parish (2012) in the areas of faith formation, youth ministry, pastoral care, and Vietnamese senior association. The sisters also serve in prison ministry and child care ministry.

With the growth and expansion, the community petitioned the motherhouse to establish a province in the U.S. for the ease of administration in April 2009. The petition was approved and on November 24, 2011, the community officially became a “Province of the United States” with its main house in the Diocese of Oakland.

More than three hundred years after their founding, the sisters continue to dutifully carry out the mission entrusted to them with an extraordinary love for Christ Crucified among the people of God and embodying the spirit that has been imparted by Bishop Lambert. As they celebrate the closing Mass of their Jubilee year, they join voices in proclaiming: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever” (Ps 136).