I am Fr. Vincent Kien Nguyen, one of the four newly ordained priests of the archdiocese. I am heartily grateful to the archbishop for appointing me as parochial vicar at St Ann. Ever since I received the assignment; I have been keeping you in my prayers. And I am told that you have been praying for the NOLA seminarians at Mass every day. Therefore, our spiritual connection has started since day one.
I am the youngest of my parents’ nine children. I was born and raised in a devout Catholic family in northern Vietnam. In 2010, I came to the US, to learn English and study philosophy and theology at several seminaries in the Midwest. In 2016, I moved to New Orleans and was ordained a deacon for the Archdiocese of New Orleans in May 2017. The most blessed day of my life was June 2, 2018, when I was ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ at our historic St. Louis Cathedral.
When the archbishop called me informing me that I would be the parochial vicar at St. Ann, the first thing I did was go to the St. Joseph chapel located in the seminary to give thanks to God and to start praying with you and for you. A special connection between me and St. Ann Church is that my mom’s baptismal name was Ann. My mom’s greatest dream was to see me being ordained a priest and celebrating my first Holy Mass. But God had another plan and called her home last October. In His Divine Providence, God sends me to St. Ann, my new family and my new home.
Let us pray with and for one another each and every day, especially at the Holy Mass. I am looking forward to lifting up our hearts together with you to the LORD.