Tran Looks Forward to Serving God's People

By Mary Frances McCarthy
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 5/29/03)

Augustine Minh Hai Tran felt God’s call at a very young age. He said it became clear to him around the age of 11 that he was meant to serve God’s people as a priest. Tran will be ordained a transitional deacon on May 31 at St. Thomas More Cathedral in Arlington by Bishop Paul S. Loverde.

The message of Mary and Martha welcoming Jesus to their home inspired Tran to serve God. After hearing the Gospel as a child, Tran said he "decided to imitate Mary since she had ‘chosen the best’ and I was so excited. That evening, during dinner, I told my parents that I wanted to devote my life to God. The whole family was very happy with me and for me."

Tran’s uncle Peter was a priest and a role model. He is now Bishop Peter Tran Dinh Tu of the Phu Cuong Diocese in Vietnam.

Other role models in Tran’s childhood were "the pastor who cared" Father Dominic Tran Xuan Thao, and the seminarian who trained him how to be an altar boy, Do Manh Thai, who is now a priest in Vietnam.

Tran was born in Vietnam in 1974 to Phuc Q. Tran and Hien T. Nguyen. He and his family left Vietnam 12 years ago. They settled in Springfield and Tran attended Robert E. Lee High School for a year before moving to the Bronx, N.Y. Tran graduated from Roosevelt High School in New York in 1994 with honors and was the first Asian student to participate in the student government.

Tran continued his education pursuing a degree in electrical engineering at Manhattan College in Riverdale, N.Y, which was established by the Brothers of Christian Schools in the LaSallian tradition.

During his junior year, Tran began his religious formation when he joined the Neumann Residence for candidates pursuing the priesthood for the Archdiocese of New York.

He received a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering with a minor in philosophy in 1998.

Following college, Tran was enrolled in pre-theology at Neumann Residence until the summer of 1999, when he graduated as Chaplain Candidate from the chaplaincy school in Fort Jackson, S.C., for the Army Reserve.

In the fall of 1999, he entered the spirituality program sponsored by the Archdiocese of New York. Tran entered Mount St. Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., as a first-year theology student in 2000.

Tran decided to leave the Archdiocese of New York, "a diocese I love and a place that fostered my vocation," when his family moved to Annandale in 2000. He values the bond of his family, who have been "very receptive, excited and very supportive" of his vocation.

In his religious formation in the United States, Tran has been touched by Father Ignatius Vu Xuan, parochial vicar at St. Paul Church in Staten Island, N.Y., and Father John Kelly, pastor of St. Leo the Great in Fairfax.

Father Xuan helped Tran enroll in seminary and has supported him during his formation. "His Marian devotion and prayerful life and very calm way give me a sense of gentleness of a parish priest," Tran said of Father Xuan.

Tran spent last summer at St. Leo the Great Parish in Fairfax, assisting Father Kelly. Tran was touched by the amount of respect paid to him by the pastor. "He thought of me as a friend, a future priest," said Tran. "He helped me to learn things that are happening in the daily basis of the parish life. One time, he even took me to the boiler room to show me how it works. [He said,] ‘They did not teach you this in the seminary did they?’ with a big laugh."

Tran describes his family as devout Catholics; they are very active at Holy Martyrs of Vietnam Parish in Arlington. He is the second of 10 children in the family, four boys and six girls. Two of his sisters were adopted.

Tran is eagerly looking forward to serving the Catholic population in Northern Virginia. "I was excited when I received the ‘Call to the order’ by Bishop Loverde," said Tran. "It will be a very exciting experience as a deacon in the diocese. I will have chances to meet and serve our people. At the same time, I can have some ideas about the needs of our people so that I can serve them better in my future ministry."

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