“Stay close to the people, close to your religious community, and close to the Spirit. If you do, your priesthood will become a real sign of the love of the Sacred Heart and a faithful witness to our Dehonian vocation.”
The quote is from Fr. Vien Nguyen, SCJ, speaking to Fathers Long Nguyen, SCJ (left), and Hung Pham, SCJ, during their Ordination Mass on August 15, the Feast of the Assumption. It took place at Vietnamese Martyrs Parish in Houston; Bishop Joseph Kopacz of the Diocese of Jackson, MS, was the ordaining bishop.
Vietnamese Martyrs has been Fr. Hung’s parish since arriving in the United States from Vietnam in 2008. “I was an usher and catechist for four years here before pursuing my vocation with the Dehonians,” he said. On Sunday, August 16, he celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving at the parish. Fr. Hung is 39 and is a member of the SCJs’ pastoral team in northern Mississippi, where he served his deacon internship.
Fr. Long, 47, comes to the priesthood after nearly 20 years of religious life as an SCJ brother. He has served in pastoral ministry in South Dakota, Mississippi and Wisconsin. He also assisted with the English and Culture Studies Program at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology. After completing a year-long CPE program (Clinical Pastoral Education) through Aurora Healthcare in Milwaukee, he entered his current ministry as a hospital chaplain in the Milwaukee area.
“My vocational call as a Dehonian priest is to help bring holiness to the faithful by helping them to overcome the barriers we erect that can sometimes make us blind to God’ s love,” said Fr. Long.
CLICK HERE to read more about the ordination.
CLICK HERE to view photos from Saturday, and CLICK HERE to view photos from the two Masses of Thanksgiving.
CLICK HERE to view a recording of the livestream of the Ordination Mass.
