On the feast of Saint Barnabas (June 11, 2022), three deacons of the Vietnamese Vice-Province of Extra-Patriam were ordained by bishop Italo Dell’Oro, C.R.S. (Auxiliary Bishop of Galveston-Houston Archidiocese), to the priesthood.
It was a mixture of joy, accomplishment, and relief amid the great solemnity.
These three young Redemptorists stepped on the altar to be anointed as priests. Quan Nguyen CSsR is from San Diego; Truong Nguyen CSsR, San Jose; Loi Nguyen CSsR, Phoenix. They graduated in May of 2021 from St. Mary’s Seminary in Houston.
Bishop Dell’Oro celebrated the Mass at the Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in St. Clement’s Monastery in Houston.
In his homily, Bishop Dell’Oro said, “The relationship with Jesus is foundational; without it, we could not grow…. Whether you are happy or sad, joyful or tragic, or whatever may follow, make prayer a way of living your life. And as priests, you bring to fulfillment the munera Christi [the three offices of teaching, sanctifying and governing] …. and be Christ to other.”
The ordinations come at the time period, as Extra Patriam is constructing its St. Clement’s Hall to host gatherings important to the Redemptorist mission, along with the newly built columbarium.
These newly ordained Redemptorist priests will be assigned to various places. Rev. Quan will stay and carry out his mission at St. Clement’s Monastery in Houston. Rev. Truong is assigned to St. Alphonsus Monastery in Winnsboro, Texas, and Rev. Loi Nguyen will be at Blessed Methodius Trčka House in the Czech Republic.
May God bless them abundantly through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Fr. Loi Nguyen, C.Ss.R.
