Fr. Dominic Nguyen: 40 Years of service in the Lord’s vineyard

When describing his vocation journey to the priesthood in the Catholic Church, Fr. Dominic ascribes it all to the Providence of God. It is truly an amazing story, full of dangers and challenges, but Fr. Dominic knew God led and protected him along the way. Looking back over his 40 years as a priest, his overall response is one of thanksgiving to God. 

Born in Vietnam while the country was divided into North and South, with the communists ruling in the North, Dominic was raised in a family of 13 children. His father had been in the French navy when the North defeated the French in 1945. In 1954, the North Vietnam government allowed all the people who wanted to leave the North to move to the South. Fr. Dominic said that the Catholics in their village moved to the South to get away from the communists, and he, along with all but one of his siblings, was born in the South. 

Already as a young boy, Dominic wanted to be a priest. To become one, a boy had to attend the minor seminary for his schooling. At age 11, Dominic entered the minor seminary, but two years later he contracted typhoid fever and was hospitalized for three months in the ICU. There was a kind, Buddhist doctor who knew he was a Catholic and treated him well. Dominic was so impressed by this doctor that he prayed that if God gave him a chance to live, he would become a medical doctor like this kind doctor. When he recovered his health, however, Dominic realized that he did not have the finances to pursue medical training, so he returned to his original vocational path of priesthood. 

Fr. Dominic credits the priests in Vietnam who guided him in the seminary for his vocation. In 1975, the communists came to the South, and the seminary went underground. Then began a time when many people escaped from unified communist Vietnam. The priests and seminarians were also escaping in secret, leaving no opportunity to complete his studies. It was time for him to escape, too. 

It took Dominic three attempts on his own to escape successfully from Vietnam. He promised God that if he lived through this, he would become a priest. In his third attempt, Dominic ended up in a boat on the open sea where the passengers were robbed by pirates who broke the motor, leaving them stranded. A commercial Greek ship on the way to Thailand rescued them in international waters. When they arrived in Thailand, they were detained in prison for 45 days. Then the Canadian Immigration officers came to interview them and asked if they wanted to come to Canada. Dominic saw this as God’s Providence taking care of him.
​
He was sent to Montreal then Calgary where he applied to Bishop Paul O’Byrne of the Diocese of Calgary because he knew other priests from Vietnam who had gone there. Bishop Paul was very supportive of him. 

Dominic lived with Fr. Dominic Pham Van Bao, OP, at St. Anne’s rectory where he learned English from the parishioners and attended Bow College for English lessons. Then he was sent to Mission, B.C., for his seminary formation along with Fr. Ignatius Tran. They were both ordained transitional deacons in 1985 and priests on September 5, 1986, by Bishop Paul.

Fr. Dominic is very grateful for the support he has received over the many years of his life and priesthood. He is thankful to the three bishops under whose leadership he has served: Bishop Paul O’Byrne, Bishop Frederick Henry, and Bishop William McGrattan. Fr. Dominic is also grateful to all the priests, parishioners, and hospital staff with whom he served over the years: Medicine Hat as a deacon in 1985 and then as associate pastor with Fr. Michael Storey as pastor; 1987-1991 in hospital chaplaincy in Calgary; 1990-1991 at Cluny and Bassano as administrator on weekends along with missions in Gleichen, Husar, and Arrowwood; 1991-1995 in Claresholm where he was for the first time pastor of the parish, with missions in Nanton, Stavely, and Granum; 1995-2000 as pastor in Bow Island and Foremost, with eight missions; 2000-2002 Foothills Hospital Chaplaincy; 2002-2010 in Strathmore where the old church was eventually demolished and Mass was offered in the school; in 2007, the parish started a Catholic school in Strathmore; 2010-2015 in Milk River with missions in Allerston, Warner, and Coutts; 2015-2019 at St. Luke’s in Calgary; 2019-2021 at St. James in Calgary; 2021 to the present at Claresholm. 

Fr. Dominic extends his gratitude to everyone: “So many people, so many good people. I want to thank God for all of them. I thank God for my vocation and His grace in helping me every day.”  He knows that God is protecting him as he drives on the rural roads in winter. 
 
When asked what advice he would give to a young person discerning a vocation, Fr. Dominic offered, “Go and try it to find out if God wants this for you so that you won’t have any regrets. Knock on the door and see if God is really calling you. Don’t wait for God to reveal your vocation. Listen to Jesus saying, ‘Come, follow Me.’ His first invitation was ‘Come and see for yourself.’”

---

Written by Sr. Dianne Turner for Faithfully, after an interview with Fr. Dominic Nguyen. We thank Solomon Ip and Sr. Dianne for coordinating this jubilarian feature and helping collect stories and materials.​ Photos courtesy of Fr. Dominic Nguyen and Fr. Iqbal Kurshid​.​