Mass and farewell celebration planned for July 31
By Agnieszka Krawczynski
The B.C. Catholic

A Vancouver priest is getting ready to say goodbye to his beloved archdiocese.

Father Joseph Nguyen, the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Vancouver, is about to step into big new shoes as the Bishop of Kamloops. He is ready to answer the call, but sad to leave Vancouver.

“From this diocese I was called; I was ordained for this church, and I thought I would remain here, but God has different plans,” he said.

“It’s sad, humanly speaking, but I have to look at the positive side. If God really wants me to go, I should be open to it with obedience and humility.”

Father Nguyen landed in Vancouver as a Vietnamese refugee in 1987. He picked up English, went to seminary, and was proud to become a priest in 1992.

In the 24 years since, he has served faithfully in several parishes including St. Jude’s, Immaculate Conception (Delta), Corpus Christi, Our Lady of Mercy, and St. Andrew’s. He has also taken on several roles on the archdiocesan level, including vocations director and vicar general, the right-hand man of the bishop.

“I was very grateful to Archbishop Miller that he picked me as his vicar general.”

When the papal nuncio to Canada said he had been chosen to replace retiring Bishop David Monroe of Kamloops, his knee-jerk reaction was to say no.

“I said, ‘I don’t think I have that gift. I don’t think I am capable of doing this,'” he recalled. “After reflecting and listening to him, I reconsidered.”

Father Nguyen then visited his future diocese. With Bishop Monroe, he travelled between Kamloops and Quesnel, stopping at churches and schools and receiving a warm welcome from children, parishioners, and his future staff.

A big challenge in the Diocese of Kamloops, he said, will be to encourage more men to consider vocations to the priesthood; there are currently 20 priests spread across 61 communities. Cities are farther apart, roads are rougher, winters are colder, and his office space is smaller.

“I look at Kamloops. It’s very challenging, but I try to compare. When I came to Vancouver, I didn’t know anything, even the language. But God gave me enough grace to do it!”

The archdiocese will give him a farewell party at St. Patrick’s Parish in Vancouver July 31. There will first be Mass at 5 p.m.

Tickets for the dinner are available at www.rcav.org/tickets.