Need a calming presence? See the special man

By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald

Benedictine Father Charles Benoit doesn’t need a fancy Myers-Briggs personality assessment to figure out where Bishop-elect John Tran falls on the spectrum.

If ever the temperature begins rising in a room of people with competing and sometimes contentious ideas, Father Charles considers Bishop-elect Tran the priest most likely to calm the waters.

“In the midst of chaos or a crisis, he’s always been the one to bring a calming presence and refocus people on things that actually matter,” said Father Charles, dean of the West St. Tammany-Washington Deanery. “I imagine that in serving the parish, he does the same kind of thing.”

As a fellow pastor, Father Charles has observed the way in which Bishop-elect Tran has employed his leadership skills at Mary Queen of Peace Parish in Mandeville. The emphasis has always been on kindness and restraint.

“John has the greatest ability to get out of the way and let people do things,” Father Charles said. “He likes to empower people, and then he trusts them afterwards. There’s so many people who empower people and try to micromanage them. But he empowers people – especially the laity – and then really gets out of the way.”

At Mary Queen of Peace, pastoral council president Beth Brantley has met monthly with Bishop-elect Tran over the last six years and has witnessed first-hand his style of pastoral leadership.

“I would call him a humble servant,” Brantley said. “He personifies service to others, and not just by leading others but by actually getting out there and doing it himself. He represents what it is to be a Catholic.”

Indefatigable, relentless

The story of Bishop-elect Tran donating a kidney to a brother priest in 2015 is well known, but parishioner Anne Bitterwolf said some may not realize that not long after he donated the organ, he was celebrating Mass.

“He should have been in bed recovering, and he showed up to celebrate Mass,” Bitterwolf said. “He could hardly walk.”

Parishioners learned about his childhood in Vietnam in brief mentions during his homilies or in conversations outside of church.

“He said he had no shoes when he arrived in the U.S., and his dad made shoes for the kids out of paper plates,” Bitterwolf said.

When he became pastor, Mary Queen of Peace became a host parish for Family Promise – an organization that helps homeless families.

After Hurricane Harvey in 2017, he led a group of parishioners to Houston to provide hands-on relief. He also never forgot to thank people for small acts of kindness.

“What I truly came to love and appreciate about him was the gratitude he showed toward others for the smallest good deed,” Bitterwolf said. “My husband used to volunteer for school car line, and Father John was usually out there as well, and he would walk up and thank the volunteers each morning. His whole life has been about serving God and others.  I admire him so much.  He never seeks recognition, praise or attention for all the wonderful works he does.”

pfinney@clarionherald.org