Community Corner

Newly Ordained Priest Assigned to Newport Church

Father Joseph Ngu Truong was among four priests ordained today at St. Columban Catholic Church in Garden Grove. He was assigned to Our Lady Queen of Angels Church.

Four Catholic priests -- including one who will be serving the Newport Beach community -- were ordained today at a mass in Garden Grove, according to a spokesman for the Diocese of Orange.

The ordination was celebrated at St. Columban Catholic Church in Garden Grove. Reverends Joseph Ngu Truong, Thanh-Tai Nguyen, Benjamin Diep Hoang and Paul Vu were among the group of ordained priests which all come from Vietnamese descent. Diocese spokesman Stephen Bohannon said Truong was assigned to Newport's Our Lady Queen of Angels Church.

"These new priests are a blessing from God and a gift to our Diocese," Bishop Tod D. Brown said in a released statement. "Their ministry will be vital to serving the 1.2 million Catholics in Orange County."

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Truong was born in Vietnam and moved to Santa Ana with his family in 1993 at the age of 21. He became a parishioner at Blessed Sacrament Church and later graduated from California State University of Pomona with a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering. Joseph attended Mt. Angel Seminary and St. John’s Seminary.

Truong said he was called to priesthood when Jesus spoke to him while he read the Gospel at a Sunday mass.

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Church officials say Orange County has the highest concentration of Vietnamese descendants outside of Vietnam. Vu will serve at Mission Basilica in San Juan Capistrano, Hoang at St. Anthony Claret Church in Anaheim and Nguyen at St. Bonaventure Church in Huntington Beach.


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