06/02/2024
Meet the 3 Seminarians Who Were Ordained to the Transitional Diaconate Last Weekend.
ERIC DONLON - My name is Erin Donlon, I’m originally from Good Shepherd Parish in S**o. I was born into a devoutly Catholic family of seven kids. I was homeschooled through high school and graduated in 2012. From a very young age, I was introduced to the catechism of the Church and attached a great importance to the Mass and the sacraments. I started as an altar server when I was eight and was extremely involved with serving at St. Joseph Church in Biddeford. In high school, I was involved in a local discernment group but never really put much serious thought to entering seminary. I ended up attending and graduating Maine Maritime Academy. While I was there, I helped start a college Knights of Columbus Council and also a Catholic group, where previously there had not been one.
I didn’t really start to discern the priesthood seriously again until I was overseas in Japan, working for a military supply company. While I was there, I saw the desperate need for priests, not just here in Maine but also for the Armed Services. While I was in Japan, I suffered a shoulder injury that required me to come home. Oddly enough, because of that, I was able to attend an ordination Mass for the first time. After that, I really started receiving the sacraments more frequently and attending Mass as much as possibly could.
I graduated from Maine Maritime Academy in December of 2017 and have been accepted as co-sponsored seminarian for the Diocese of Portland and the Archdiocese for Military Services. I am currently in a pastoral year, serving with the Archdiocese for Military Services in Washington, D.C.
I’m extremely excited to be a part of this diocese and am looking forward serving the great people of Maine.
HOA TIEN NGUYEN - I wanted to become a priest ever since I was in middle school. I admired people who followed a religious vocation, especially priests. My family noticed my admiration for the vocation of the priesthood and sent me to live with a parish priest when I turned 12 years old. I lived with the parish priests from 1998 - 2005 and, under their guidance, I learned more about the priesthood and served regularly as an acolyte for the parish.
I finished high school in 2005. After high school, I came to Saigon to find a job and was a mason to support my family in difficult times from 2005 – 2006. After a year working in Saigon, I realized that I needed to continue to study in order to pursue my initial dream of becoming a priest. So, I decided to take the exam in the university.
I attended Phu Xuan University from 2007 to 2011 and majored in literature. After graduating with my bachelor’s degree, I studied and graduated with a Master of Arts degree at the Hue University of Sciences in 2014. During my breaks from school, I enjoyed attending youth group activities and doing charity work for the Quang Binh province. This was the meaningful time for me to pray and rethink about my vocation. In the light of the Holy Spirit, I prayed a lot, and I felt the impulse coming from God that I needed to return another way to follow the vocation that I desired before.
From 2014 – 2015, I worked as a missionary for two parishes in Vietnam: Tan Hoi Parish under the leadership of Fr. Joseph Phan Van Hieu and Khe Cat Parish under the leadership of Fr. Peter Tran Ngoc Huong. While serving there, I had many chances to communicate and learn from the people whom I was serving. I learned about their struggles and lives of poverty, and because of these experiences, my desire for the priestly vocation burned stronger in my heart. I really want to continue with my vocation.
During this time of discernment, I was inspired by this statement of Mark's Gospel, which says “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation” (Mark 16, 15). The more I reflected on this statement, the more I was challenged. I often asked myself if I am ready to follow Jesus Christ. I also realized that it is not easy to follow the priestly vocation. However, I am convinced that if I follow Jesus, he is always with me and will strengthen my spirit. In May 2017, I was accepted by the Diocese of Portland in Maine as a seminarian. I am now in my pastoral year at Prince of Peace Parish in Lewiston.
I am known as a musician who loves to sing and play the piano. I see myself as a man of faith who has confidence in God's divine providence. I also see that I have potential to be an educator.
I find myself to be an extrovert; I like to communicate and befriend people and create a cheerful and friendly atmosphere in community life. Additionally, I love participating in sports and communal activities, not only for the opportunity for me to connect with other people, but to also help me learn more about American culture.
I really love studying and like all subjects. I hope that I will study well with my best ability to meet the needed requirements in the dimensions of becoming a priest of Christ.
I love the poor, the homeless, and the children of God. I always realize that living with the poor and helping them recognize God is an important goal and is linked to the pastoral life of a priest because this mission that is rooted in Christ and is also the Church's demand for priesthood.
THANK DUC PHAM - “Become all things to all” (1 Cor 9,22). I am Thanh Pham, and Saigon, Vietnam, is my hometown. I was born in a big family; my parents have three sons and seven daughters. My parents used to serve for the American army in the Vietnamese War. I grew up in a faithful Catholic family; therefore, I am nurtured in the life of faith. When I was child, I attended Mass everyday with my grandmother. At my first Communion, I made promises with Jesus that “Death is better than sin, and Jesus and Blessed Mary are my friend,” just as St. Dominic Savior did. This commitment continues to strongly compel me to be a good child of God and to be a saint. Additionally, I desired to become a priest since seeing my pastor say Mass at the altar.
In 2005, after I completed one week of spiritual exercises, I was accepted as a candidate in the Society of Jesus. In this community, I learned many things to help me discover myself and my vocation more. In addition, I was trained in every dimension of the vocation: human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral. In the vision of St. Ignatius: “Everything for the glory of God.” After four years, through prayer, I recognized my vocation to be a diocesan priest rather than a religious priest. By the grace of God, I was accepted into the Diocese of Portland. I am continuing my formation with a pastoral year at St. Paul the Apostle Parish, Bangor.
St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians in his first letter: “I have become all things to all, to save at least some”; similarly, I want to be “servant of servants of God” because “the love of Christ impels me."
