By Bridget Spinks
DEACON Quynh Huy Nhat Do was incardinated to the Diocese of Perth on 6 January and will be ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Perth on 4 March.
“It’s been a very hard journey to the priesthood,” the 35 year old said, but the humility of Jesus and His constant availability to the poor as well as the thought of those who need him to come and serve them has sustained him.
Deacon Quynh entered the Sulpice seminary in Hue, Vietnam in 1998 when he was 23 after studying French literature at university in Saigon.
He was ordained to the deaconate on 4 August 2005 but has had to wait for nearly five years to be ordained a priest because of Communist policy in Vietnam.
As well as applying to the Bishop for approval to enter the seminary, a young man must also apply to the government. To be ordained a priest, a deacon will need to apply again, he said.
In the meantime, Deacon Quynh worked for ethnic minorities for seven years. He was a secretary of the diocesan development committee where he worked on a project that helped provide food, drink and education to ethnic minorities.
But it was not always easy to get to the Laos Cambodia border or into the restricted area for missionary work due to government restrictions.
“During that time I tried to visit the ethnic communities often and preach the Gospel,” he said.
“They looked forward to seeing me every month,” he said.
Deacon Quynh said he was inspired to become a priest by the French Missionaries (Missions Étrangerères de Paris) who came to Kontum Diocese in 1848 and would die three or four months later from disease.
“I came to realise that this was heroic and being a priest was a heroic vocation as well,” he said.
These missionaries inspired him because they gave their lives for their vocation – God and for people they served, he said.
“They left their material life back in Paris and civilisation in the West to come to the third world country,” he said.
Fr Lucas Thu Bui, his parish priest in Tan Huong, who sent him to the Sisters of the Congregation of St Paul of Chartres, also influenced him, he said.
“Every weekend I came to see them and we said prayer together. These nuns taught me catechism and how to be a good Catholic. They prepared me for the journey of my vocation in Kontum,” he said.
Bishop Michael Hoang of Kontum diocese introduced Deacon Quynh to Fr Vinh Dong to sponsor him to stay in Australia for pastoral placement as well as to learn English and the Australian culture.
Deacon Quynh has been at Greenwood parish since 17 October 2008 and prior to that he was at Lockridge parish from 22 August 2008.
Meanwhile, Seminarian Tai Trinh, 31, is away on retreat this week in preparation for his ordination to the Diaconate for Geraldton Diocese on 5 February at All Saints Parish in Greenwood.
He came to Australia in April 2004 after meeting Bishop Justin Bianchini and Fr Vinh Dong in Vietnam through Dominican Sr Agnes in 2003. Tai spent his first year in Australia based in Geraldton mainly studying English and travelling around the Diocese to places he will work in the future.
While studying to become a vet in Vietnam, Tai discerned his vocation with the Salesians after being inspired by St John Bosco. He said he liked the spirit that the saint had for helping young people grow in the faith and develop into good people and good Christians.
“I worked for a year and I decided God called me to become a priest and God showed me to Bishop Justin,” he said. He added that he never thought he would come to Australia.
Tai entered St Charles’ Seminary in 2005 when he was 25 and since then the call to be a priest has become stronger over time, he said. Tai has three sisters – one lives in France, another has become a Missionary of Charity and his younger sister is studying at university in Perth.
He said he formed a good impression of priests and nuns when he was growing up. His parents were supportive of the work of Religious and would host them to dinner.
He said this inspired him to become a priest when he grew up.
Tai said his mother is very happy for him to become a priest and his father, who passed away when he was 12, would be too.