Joseph Phuong Nguyen
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Joseph Phuong Nguyen | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Kamloops | |
.jpg) Nguyen in 2025 at the Marian Days pilgrimage in Carthage, Missouri. | |
| Native name | Giuse Nguyễn Thế Phương |
| Church | Catholic |
| Province | Vancouver |
| See | Kamloops |
| Appointed | June 1, 2016 |
| Installed | August 25, 2016 |
| Predecessor | David Monroe |
| Previous post |
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| Orders | |
| Ordination | May 30, 1992 by Adam Exner |
| Consecration | August 25, 2016 by J. Michael Miller |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 25, 1957 |
| Nationality | Vietnamese Canadian |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Motto | State in Domino (Latin for 'Stand firm in the Lord')[1] (Đứng vững trong Chúa) |
Ordination history of Joseph Phuong Nguyen | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source(s):[2][3] | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Styles of Joseph Phuong Nguyen | |
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| Reference style | The Most Reverend |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Your Excellency |
Joseph Phương Thế Nguyễn (born March 25, 1957) is a Vietnamese-born Canadian Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Kamloops since 2016.[4] He was previously vicar general for the Archdiocese of Vancouver.[5]
Nguyễn Thế Phương was born on March 27, 1957 in Đắk Lắk, South Vietnam.[6] He is the eldest of ten children, with one brother who is a priest of the Diocese of Hamilton and two sisters who are religious.[5] He additionally has a cousin who is a priest in his home diocese of Ban Mê Thuột.[6]
Nguyen had a deep love for God at an early age and became a minor seminarian at age 11. When the communist government took control of Catholic institutions, Nguyen continued to live out his office and was imprisoned multiple times for training catechists.[5]
Nguyen realized that there would be no opportunity to be ordained a priest in Vietnam. He secretly attempted to flee, only telling his father the plan, but was caught and forced to go back to shore.[2] He and his group were then captured and imprisoned by the government, suffering torture and malnutrition. He then made another attempt to escape the country by boat with another group. This time, the boat was rescued by a German ship and was brought to the Philippines' Palawan refugee camp. He was shortly thereafter injured in an auto accident, remaining in a coma for several months.[7]
In 1987, Nguyen came to Vancouver, Canada, as a refugee. He was initially discouraged from pursuing the priesthood due to the difficulties he faced while fleeing Vietnam. Still, his father encouraged him to continue, and he took a job as a painter and studied English as a second language.[2] Eventually, he was accepted at the Seminary of Christ the King in Mission.[5] He was also sent to St. Peter's Seminary in London, Ontario, to finish his degree in theology.[8]
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