06/07/2023
Congratulations Auxiliary Bishop Michael Pham❤️🙏🏽😇💯❗️
Meet Our New Auxiliary Bishop
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I was born in 1967 in Da Nang, Viet Nam, when there was conflict between North and South Viet Nam. In 1975, my family and extended family migrated to further South Viet Nam to live on a farm in order to survive. When I was about 10 years old, I noticed a priest in town who was very involved with his parishioners. He visited the families often and was kind to all people. I thought, “I want to be like that.” In 1980, when I was 13 years old, I with my older sister, my younger brother left Viet Nam on a boat to an island called Palau Bidong, Malaysia. In 1981, we were sponsored by an American family to live in Blue Earth, Minnesota. Another sister came a few months later, and a couple years later, the rest of the family joined us. The weather was too cold for my parents, so our family, except one sister, moved to San Diego in 1985. Though church was still important to me, my focus was more on academics. I finished high school at San Diego High, and then I went to San Diego State to earn an engineering degree. In my third year of college, I took a course in philosophy to meet general education requirements. This course raised many questions in my mind. At this time, I told my father during family dinner that I wanted to explore the priesthood. He did not say a word. At the next night’s dinner, he finally said, “if anyone of your brothers who want to go into the priesthood, I would let them, but not you.” I thought that my dad and I had such a good relationship, and I didn’t understand why he would not allow me to go. I respectfully continued to finish my college and after college, I began working and helping out at our parish church, Good Shepherd. The call to the priesthood became more intense. I asked my father a second time. The answer was again negative. I strongly felt I had to do this, otherwise, I would regret it. On my own, I applied for the seminary in the Diocese of San Diego. My parents soon realized that they couldn’t stop me from entering the seminary, and they finally accepted my request for their approval. I truly felt the hands of God working throughout the whole process for me to become a priest.
I entered St. Francis Seminary at USD in 1994, and then the faculty sent me to St. Patrick’s Seminary in San Francisco. I was ordained in 1999 for the Diocese of San Diego. On the day of my ordination, I felt incredible joy, happiness, and peace. My parents and siblings were very happy for me. As a priest, all I wanted was to serve God’s people in the celebration of the Eucharist and to gather all people to be united in Christ in the life of service, charity, and love. Through the course of my priesthood, God had shown me his great love and grace in my life as I served the community of St. Mary Star of the Sea, the community of St. Francis’ Seminary as vocation director, the community of Holy Family, the community of St. Therese, and the community of Good Shepherd. Even though life and ministries can be difficult sometimes, I would not trade it for anything. To be able to serve others, especially to needy, the marginalized, and the poor because they need the most, gives great satisfaction and affirms my journey’s choices.
Thus, I really appreciate Pope Francis always mindful of the ones in the peripheries. Over the years, he has chosen a number of cardinals from areas where they are small and unknown to many people. Pope Francis also opened the Synod on Synodality to hear the voice of the people, especially reaching out to weak, the vulnerable, marginalized, and those on the peripheries. For these reasons, I feel my priesthood is so worthwhile to serve the church and to lead people and cultures to be one in Christ. It is truly a privilege and an honor to become a priest. And now, I am being called to serve the church in a greater capacity as bishop. I don’t know what I have, but I hope and pray through the guidance of the Holy Spirit to give me wisdom, knowledge, and strength to take on this task that Pope has entrusted to me to serve God’s people.
