-
![Most Rev. Thanh Thai Nguyen, the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange, at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan 19, 2018. Nguyen is the second Vietnamese American bishop to serve in that capacity and was recently ordained. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)]()
Most Rev. Thanh Thai Nguyen, the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange, at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan 19, 2018. Nguyen is the second Vietnamese American bishop to serve in that capacity and was recently ordained. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
-
![Most Rev. Thanh Thai Nguyen, the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange, at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan 19, 2018. Nguyen is the second Vietnamese American bishop to serve in that capacity and was recently ordained. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)]()
Most Rev. Thanh Thai Nguyen, the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange, at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan 19, 2018. Nguyen is the second Vietnamese American bishop to serve in that capacity and was recently ordained. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
-
![Most Rev. Thanh Thai Nguyen, the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange, at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan 19, 2018. Nguyen is the second Vietnamese American bishop to serve in that capacity and was recently ordained. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)]()
Most Rev. Thanh Thai Nguyen, the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange, at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan 19, 2018. Nguyen is the second Vietnamese American bishop to serve in that capacity and was recently ordained. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
-
![Most Rev. Thanh Thai Nguyen, the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange, at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan 19, 2018. Nguyen is the second Vietnamese American bishop to serve in that capacity and was recently ordained. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)]()
Most Rev. Thanh Thai Nguyen, the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange, at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan 19, 2018. Nguyen is the second Vietnamese American bishop to serve in that capacity and was recently ordained. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
-
![Most Rev. Thanh Thai Nguyen, the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange, at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan 19, 2018. Nguyen is the second Vietnamese American bishop to serve in that capacity and was recently ordained. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)]()
Most Rev. Thanh Thai Nguyen, the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange, at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove on Friday, Jan 19, 2018. Nguyen is the second Vietnamese American bishop to serve in that capacity and was recently ordained. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
-
Expand
The Most Rev. Thanh Thai Nguyen, Auxiliary Bishop at the Diocese of Orange
City of residence: Laguna Woods
Age: 64
Life Story: Nguyen was born in Nha Trang, Vietnam, and spent most of his elementary education in Catholic schools. In 1966, he entered St. Joseph Seminary, a small diocesan institute in Vietnam. His seminary education was interrupted by the communist government takeover of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975. He and other seminarians found themselves forced into hard labor in the rice fields just to be able to continue their studies. In 1979, Nguyen, along with 26 members of his extended family, boarded a 28-foot motorboat that left Cam Ranh Bay for the Philippines. The group spent 18 harrowing days at sea –several of them with no food or water — and were ambushed by a tropical storm. They prayed the rosary until they finally reached the shores of the Philippines. After spending 10 months there in a refugee camp, Nguyen and his family came to Beaumont, Texas, in June 1980. He continued his education, graduated from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Mass., and was ordained in 1991. Nguyen was appointed by Pope Francis as auxiliary bishop of Orange in October and was ordained in December. He came to Orange County from St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Jacksonville, Fla.
Zodiac: 1953, Year of the Snake
Lucky number: “I like the numbers 8.3.1979, the day I arrived in the Philippines after 18 days at sea. It was like a second birth.”
New Year’s memories: In his church in Florida, Nguyen said, he would hold a special Lunar New Year Mass after which they would watch dragon dancers and enjoy fireworks. “We would then head to the social hall to wish one another (a happy New Year) and enjoy food and pick a Biblical phrase that would serve as a theme for the new year,” Nguyen said.
Charities: His heart is in youth ministries and in social justice causes such as helping the poor and the refugees, Nguyen said.
Mentors: “I look up to the two popes — Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis.” He admires Pope John Paul II for his courage to stand up to the communists in Poland and Pope Francis for reaching out to the poor. He’s met both of them.
Favorite music: This bishop is not afraid to break into song. His favorites include “Amazing Grace” and “Center of My Life,” a Catholic hymn.
Favorite food: He loves a good filet mignon and a glass of wine. “But I love and value the company of good people more than the food.”
Motto: “He leads me.” (Psalm 23) “I look at my life and God leads me. He led me from Vietnam to the Philippines and then to the United States. Inch by inch, God nudges me forward.”