Seek ye first the kingdom

By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald

➤ Age: 34
➤ Home parish: Mary Queen of
Vietnam, New Orleans
➤ Diaconate internship: St. Rita of Cascia, Harahan

Two great grandmothers – one Catholic and one Buddhist – were instrumental in Long Thanh Pham becoming a priest. He will be ordained a transitional deacon – the final step before a priest’s ordination – for the Archdiocese of New Orleans May 21 at St. Louis Cathedral.

Pham grew up in Saigon, South Vietnam, with his mother, who helped arrange flowers at St. Anthony Church where they attended Mass and Pham altar served. Pham also frequented daily Mass and altar served at St. Paul Church near his school.

Over summers, Pham visited his Catholic maternal grandmother and was impacted by her daily rosary recitation.

“She taught me how to pray the rosary,” Pham said. “Praying is the way to get closer to God. He will lead me and teach me how to get into heaven.”

Pham said he was fixated on death and the afterlife at age 6. Attendance at his paternal great grandmother’s Buddhist funeral reinforced that being Catholic was the way to heaven.

“I saw the monks and how they recited prayers, and that was beautiful,” he said. “I was thinking of becoming a monk, but I was baptized. … I asked myself what would happen if I passed away? There is only one truth and only one answer.”

During a Mass shortly after, he said he heard, “Seek the heavenly kingdom, and everything would be given to you.”

“I asked how do I seek the heavenly king, and I heard, ‘Follow me.’ I know Jesus told me, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life.’ If he was my God, he would never lie to me. … At that moment, I wanted to become a priest to celebrate Mass to pray for the dead to get into heaven.”

He considered the priesthood during high school, but chose a two-year certification in internet technology “because it would be fun to know about computers and an easy way to earn money. I was planning my own internet company.”

At age 20, he visited America for a family reunion in Washington state, where his paternal grandfather, an aunt and uncle had moved through a U.S. program that relocated South Vietnam soldiers fighting against the communists. Pham stayed – living with his aunt and her American husband.

Pham was learning English and working at McDonald’s but knew something was missing in his life. His American uncle recognized his sadness and asked what vocation he desired. His initial response was to be a boxer or policeman. When his uncle asked again, Pham revealed his yearning to be a priest to lead others to heaven.

“In America you could be whatever you want to be,” his uncle reassured him. “This is your life, not your parents’ life. … You need to decide what you really like and do it.”

Pham recognized his true calling as a “priest who was with the people” and first lived with Benedictine monks. He then entered the Domus Dei Vietnamese religious community for eight years – four of them discerning at their novice house in New Orleans and earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the Holy Apostle College and Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut. He made first promises with Domus Dei. 

He decided to leave Domus Dei while living in New Orleans and reached out to Father Dominic Nghiem Van Nguyen, pastor of Mary Queen of Vietnam, about his future. Pham began working at the parish so Father Nguyen could determine his sincerity for the priesthood. He eventually wrote Pham a recommendation to apply to Notre Dame Seminary. Pham was accepted in 2019.

“Since being in the seminary, I’ve learned a lot about pastoral care for people,” he said. “In three years, the seminary has changed me into a different person.”

His pastoral ministry strengthened during a 10-week chaplaincy at the Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2021. He witnessed many life-and-death moments and was thanked by doctors for his presence. Living at a Vietnamese parish nearby, Pham made friends while being an altar server, helping at functions and speaking his native language.

“I believe being present when people need help is important,” he said. “That is the way to bring more people into community.”

Pham is looking forward to pastoring students and elderly shut-ins at St. Rita Parish in Harahan from June through October.

“With God’s grace and everything I studied in the seminary about morality and pastoral care, I hope to teach children the right things so they can live out their faith, especially since we live in a time when we have a lot of problems with morality,” he said.

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