“Our community – the Dehonians – makes space for people from all different walks of life. Let us not be discouraged by a person, an incident, a thing that hurt or bothered us. The love of Christ and our charism are what unite us. There are still people in the world searching for the Truth, hungry for Christ, and wanting to be loved. Despite our personal human weaknesses, God continues to call us to serve His Church and people… Take courage and cooperate with his grace, respond to his invitation.”
-Fr. Paul Phong Hoang, SCJ
Click here to view photos from Fr. Paul’s ordination
Click here to view photos from Fr. Paul’s first Mass of Thanksgiving
On June 1, in the sacristy of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Houston, Paul Phong Hoang, SCJ, vested as a deacon for the last time. An hour later, surrounded by family, friends, and fellow Dehonians, his parents would help to vest him as a priest in the midst of his ordination ceremony.
Bishop Joseph Kopacz of Jackson, MS, was the ordaining bishop. During Fr. Paul’s words of thanks at the end of the ordination, we learned that he and the bishop first met over a bowl of cereal in the kitchen of the Dehonian community house in Nesbit, MS.
“Who was this guy eating in our kitchen?” thought Fr. Paul when he saw the bishop. The ministries of Sacred Heart Southern Missions fall within the Diocese of Jackson. When the bishop travels to the northern portion of that diocese, he often stays with the SCJ community, where he regularly starts his day with a bowl of cereal.
When he met the bishop, Fr. Paul was in Mississippi as a student. Years later he would return to serve as a deacon and now as a priest in the Diocese of Jackson.
The man in the kitchen would one day travel to Houston to ordain Fr. Paul.
“I am so happy that Fr. Paul will continue to serve in our diocese,” said the bishop.
The road to ordination
Originally from Vietnam, Fr. Paul’s family immigrated to the United States in 2007 and settled in Houston. His home parish is Our Lady of Lavang, where he celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving on June 2. Before pursuing his vocation to religious life, Fr. Paul earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Houston.
In 2016 Fr. Paul began studies with the Dehonians and professed his first vows in 2018. He did his pastoral year in Lower Brule, SD, and has been involved in a variety of other ministries including the ESL program with the Vietnamese Association in Uptown Chicago, the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement (TNTT), St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care in Milwaukee, Dismas Ministry (prison ministry), juvenile jail visitation, Catholic Charities, and parish ministry at St. Martin of Tours in Franklin, WI.
In 2023, Fr. Paul made his perpetual profession of vows, spent the summer doing cross-cultural studies in Ecuador, and completed his final semester of seminary studies at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology before ordination to the diaconate on December 9.
Since January, he has served as a deacon on a pastoral team that serves six parishes in northern Mississippi. He will continue that ministry following his priesthood ordination.
When asked what he has most enjoyed during his first months of full-time ministry, Fr. Paul emphasized that it has been the people. “Our parishioners have been very warm and welcoming,” he said. “There is a vibrant parish life in our six parishes with good attendance at Mass and parish activities. I have enjoyed working with the parish DREs and our youth. And I have enjoyed preaching; people really do listen to our homilies.”
Some of those homilies have been in Spanish, as Fr. Paul puts last summer’s Spanish-immersion experience into action. However, until he becomes fluent, he said that he gets help from an online translation app and then has a Spanish-speaking parishioner review his written text.
From the classroom to the parish
Studying for ordained ministry isn’t quite the same as actually doing ordained ministry. There is much “on-the-job training” that supplements classwork. “Something that I am learning a lot about is parish administration,” said Fr. Paul. “This includes finance and maintenance concerns, event planning, and learning how to compassionately interact with a wide variety of personalities and viewpoints.”
Fr. Paul said that “Binders have become my friends! I have binders for various sacramental needs to keep everything in order, to know what to do.”
When asked about his “yes” to the call to be a Dehonian priest, Fr. Paul spoke about bringing the love of Christ “to people throughout ministries and services, to help people realize that the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the answer to our hungry hearts. I am truly convinced by St. Peter’s words to Jesus when he said: ‘Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’” [John 6:68]
Diocesan or religious priesthood
Like many, when Fr. Paul first began discerning his vocation to ordained ministry, he did not know the difference between diocesan and religious priesthood. “Once I began studying with the SCJs and spent more time with them, I realized that I like community life and our individual SCJs. Our community members are very diverse, down to earth, and make space for people from different backgrounds. They have a good sense of humor.
“Each SCJ is unique in the way that they have inspired me and others. This is not an inclusive list, but a few who have been influential in my years of formation include Fr. Bob Bossie, Fr. Byron Haaland, Fr. Joseph Thien-Dinh, Fr. John Czyzynski and Fr. Christianus Hendrik.”
Open to the needs of the province
When asked if there is a particular ministry or place where he would like to serve, Fr. Paul said that he is open to the needs of the province but that he hopes to someday return to South Dakota where he did his pastoral year.
Advice for those discerning a vocation?
“Our community – the Dehonians – makes space for people from all different walks of life,” said Fr. Paul. “Let us not be discouraged by a person, an incident, a thing that hurt or bothered us. The love of Christ and our charism are what unite us. There are still people in the world searching for the Truth, hungry for Christ, and wanting to be loved. Despite our personal human weaknesses, God continues to call us to serve His Church and people.
“Despite our unworthiness, if God calls us, he will take care of us. There were many moments in my journey during formation that God either steered me in a certain direction or sent people to assist me in difficult times.
“Take courage and cooperate with his grace, respond to his invitation.”
View a recording of the livestream of the ordination at the link below:
