Our Lady of Mount Carmel,

pray for us!

Saint Agnes,

pray for us!

Nuestra Señora del Monte Carmelo,¡ruega por nosotros!

Santa Inés,

¡ruega por nosotros!

Hello everyone,

I am Fr. Joseph Huy Nguyen, born and raised in Vietnam. My desire to be a priest started at a very early age. However, when I grew older, I got distracted and liked to do something else, for I thought I would never be worthy for the priesthood. Yet, I was quite active at my home parish in Vietnam: being a youth leader and catechist, and volunteering for other activities at the parish. I experienced a strong call to a life of service, feeling energetic and enthusiastic to pour myself out for any service at my parish. 

Toward the end of my high school, one day I came to my friend’s house with other guys. Then the father told me, “The pastor had just announced the entry test to the diocese’s seminary. I think you can be a good priest. Why don’t you join the seminary?” After hearing it, my heart was burning and moving, though it was not the first time I heard this recommendation. Yet, I believe that God had His time, and thus that moment was the right time for me to courageously make the move. After praying about it, I decided to apply for the entry test to the seminary. By the grace of God, I passed the test with the highest score, which qualified me to enter the seminary. I was at the seminary for two years and then eight months in a parish. My vocation to the priesthood and my desire to serve grew stronger after those years. 

In 2014, I came to Olympia, Washington State, with my family. In January of 2015, I continued my priesthood vocation at Divine Word College Seminary in Iowa, a school of a religious order named Divine Word Missionaries. I studied there for four and half years and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. Then I came to Northbrook, IL, to spend one year of novitiate, which was a year of intense prayers and discernments. In August of 2020, I professed my First Vows as a Divine Word Missionary and moved to Chicago to study Theology at Catholic Theological Union, the same theology school Pope Leo XIV studied back in the 80s. 

After a period of discernment with the religious order, God helped me realize some challenges that a missionary vocation demands, especially being far away from home. By God’s providence, my family moved to Phoenix in 2022 and I came home for vacation that summer. The moment I landed on Phoenix ground, I inexplicably fell in love with it. I experienced a very strong call to commit my life to serving this diocese. After a lot of prayers and careful discernments, I responded to God’s call to serve the Diocese of Phoenix. I have felt very much at peace and God continues to affirm my vocation through many signs. 

Even though I have been moving around, I treasure all I have learned along the way with the conviction that God has used those changes to prepare me for my future. I am very blessed to be ordained a priest for the Diocese of Phoenix on June 1, 2024 at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, which is also my first assignment before coming to St. Agnes Parish. Fr. Paul and I are so blessed to continue what the Carmelites, especially Fr. Brad Peterson, have greatly built for so many years. I acknowledge this parish is a holy crown with rich traditions. I am so excited to serve all of you and together we strive to grow in faith, hope, and charity, and become faithful disciples of Jesus. Thanks so much for welcoming me and praying for me. I kindly ask for your continued prayers and support as I take on this new mission. You are also in my daily prayers from now on. May God bless you and your families abundantly. 

Peace in Christ, 

Fr. Joseph Nguyen