Rev. Anthony Tin Nguyen S.D.D.
Associate Pastor

   Born in Da Nang, Viet Nam during the time of the Vietnam war, Fr. Anthony thanks God that he survived the big war between North and South Viet Nam.  As the middle child of the fifteen children, he has four sisters and ten brothers.  His family is living in California, and one of his younger brothers is still living in Viet Nam. 

   His father was born into a very poor and small family in the central area of Viet Nam, district An Du Tay Province Quang Tri, during the time that Viet Nam was under the control of the French.  Fr. Anthony's father and uncle were the only two children who survived after the war between France and North Viet Nam.  His grandmother, two aunts and one uncle were killed during this war.

   Fr. Anthony's mother was also born in the central area of Viet Nam, Nuoc Ngot District Binh Tri Thien Province.  After being married for almost three years, the whole family had to move to the South because the Communist took over the North in 1954.  Many families had to move to the South searching for a new life across the new border.  They moved because they thought that living under the control of the communists was very dangerous and had no future for their children.

   Moving to the South, his family tried to find a good place to settle, but it was not easy at first.  Finally, they found a place in the countryside, which was very close to a church and a school.  During the years from 1966 to 1975, his father worked for the U.S. governmental agency, OSA in Da Nang.  Fr. Anthony's mother worked for the U.S. Armed Forces at Camp Chanabor in Tien Sa, Son Cha - Da Nang.

   Fr. Anthony's two older brothers who were seminarians of Da Nang Diocesan Seminary, and all adult members of his family (including Fr. Anthony) participated in all parish activities and served as lay ministers in church propagation and administration.  With their pre-communist history, his father and uncle were incarcerated and put in a re-education camp, home arrest, and frequently watched, summoned for prolong interviews, and exiled to perform dangerous work such as detonate land mines with their bare hands.  All their properties were confiscated.  As for Fr. Anthony's mother, she was subjected to exorbitant taxes if she wanted to do business.

   In 1983, because Fr. Anthony openly and officially claimed his Catholicism, he was denied membership in the Young Communist Organization.  The management at his labor camp, Phu Ninh Irrigation Project exiled him to a more harsh and dangerous labor camp because he was labeled as obstinate.  During his year of hard labor, his family had to supply food and clothes for him.  All working-age members of his family were forced to work at hard labor camps for extended periods of time.  From 1983 to 1984, he was forced to work at Phu Ninh hard-labor camp.  His two older brothers, An Nguyen and Hue Nguyen were exiled to the same camp from 1977 to 1980.  His older sister, Nguyen Thi Ai, was exiled to the same camp from 1976 to 1979; another older sister, Nguyen Thi Lan, was sent to a labor camp in Hien District Quant Nam Province from 1981 to 1982; and his older brother, Duc Nguyen was shipped to a high mountain labor camp in Cu Boa Village, Krong Buk District, Daklak Province from 1981 to 1985.  A younger brother, Kinh Nguyen, was forced to labor at Bau Ban Irriagation Project (Hoa Bao Village, Hoa Vang District, Quang Nam Province) in 1987.  After Fr. Anthony's hard labor delegation, he was returned to his local district, but was not even allowed to register in his own family's registration until 1987, by orders of the local police.  Later, he was put to work at a public bicycle company with a nominal salary and was forbidden to participate in any religious activity in the parish, especially working with children in Religious Education.  Their reason was that he then worked for the government, thus was unable to work for the church.

   Despite their decision, Fr. Anthony kept on working with the children in the parish out of his concern for their faith.  Because of his father and his own work, the local government labeled his family as unwilling to follow their orders and on April 20, 1986 the village head revoked his parents' license to do business although they always paid taxes, which were much higher than those of others.  By doing this, they planned to cut off his family's means of survival and thus hoped to force them into submission.  In June 1986, the local police summoned Fr. Anthony and his sister, Nguyen Thi Ai, and other religious teachers to the local police headquarters for interrogation and they were accused of holding religious classes without permission.  In fact, they only assisted the Pastor in classes and set up games for the children..  In August 1986, Fr. Anthony, his sister, and the parish priest were ordered to report to them again on separate days.  This time Fr. Anthony was imprisoned for three days on the accusation of disobeying police orders and organizing children's activities.  During the incarceration, Fr. Anthony was forced to clean the toilets, water the vegetables, write admission of guilt reports, see the local policeman, as well as feed and wash pigs while his family had to bring meals in for him.

   In November 1986, he was called to report to the police for questioning about the song he taught to the children.  The local police head named Pham Thanh Ba coerced him to change the contents of the song to praise the Communist Leader, Ho Chi Minh, and the Communist Party instead of God.  For example, words of a religious song were changed to:

   He told Fr. Anthony that he had to teach the children songs that praise the Leader and the Party.  He replied that he could not change the songs, because the children had leaned them by heart; and as for revolutionary songs, the children had already been taught these in government-controlled schools.

   On the morning of December 1986, Fr. Anthony received an order to do a labor obligation for fifteen days.  He was sent to a farm at Dai Lanh Village, Dai Loe District, Quang Nam Province.  He had to weed tapioca trees and chop wood for his village's officials.  He was kept there for twenty days, and during this time, his family had to send him food and many days he went without any food at all.  On December 21, 1986, he was released.  On Christmas 1986, he taught the children to recite the drama of Jesus' birth and the performance was held in the church yard with the attendance of local officials.

   On December 27, 1986, the local government officials and policemen surrounded and ransacked his home at 9:30 PM.  After more than three hours of meticulous searching, they could not find any anti-government materials.  However, they confiscated several prayer books, the Bible, and the following books:  "The life of Theresa of the Child Jesus" and religious songbooks.

   Fr. Anthony and his father were brought to the police headquarters for questioning about the origin of the books.  His father was released later, but they decided to discipline Fr. Anthony for teaching the children songs by sending him to a labor camp for an unlimited period.  His father brought home the verdict and Fr. Antony was to report to the local government exactly 7:00 AM on January 1, 1987 to start his term.

   No longer able to put up with all this unjust treatment heaped upon him and to squander his life in the Communist government's hard labor camps as a prisoner, Fr. Anthony made up his mind to escape from their grasp.  On that night, he ran away to his friend's home.  He hid there until he left his city on February 2, 1987 for Sai Gon City.  During the time he was hiding in Sai Gon, he could not go out working to earn a living.  Under the circumstances, however, he could not prolong the fear, the uncertainty of a life of a fugitive.  His last and only resort was to leave the country.

   Fr. Anthony escaped from his country on July 27, 1987.  After fifteen days on the sea, he arrived in Hong Kong.  During the time he lived in Hong Kong, he had been in Chimawan Camp about a year, and Sanyick Camp about two years.  In February 1989, he was sent to Bataan, Philippines for about six months to study E.S. L. and American Culture before he was released to come to the United States on September 1989.

   He spent approximately a year in Huntington Beach, California studying more English and American Culture at  Golden West College.  He tried to adapt himself as quickly as he could.  After that, he moved to Lincoln, Nebraska and began to work to support himself and his family in Viet Nam.  One day in 1995, he looked at the cornfield in Nebraska, which he had to drive by every day on the way to work, and thought about his future.  At first, he thought that he just wanted to live a simple life, after all the difficulty and painful situations that he had been through all his life.  He had been through the Viet Nam war, through the suffering in the Communist labor camps, through the suffering and the death on the ways he escaped from Viet Nam.  He also had been through all the dark nights in the refugee camps and all the difficult days and nights when he first came to the United States.  He said "there was a voice telling me that if I live for myself, I am so selfish, and what profit could I earn for myself, my community, and my country?"

   One day in 1995, after a long period of time thinking about life and one good life on earth, he decided to leave everything behind, such as his own house, his job and his friends, and joined the Society of Domus Dei.  He wanted to start a new life, as a servant of God to do his will for the rest of his life.  In order to fulfill this mission, he always tried to draw himself closer to God in any way he could, especially through the meditation and apostolic works that he had to fulfill in his daily life as a member of Domus Dei Society.  Moreover, he had a dream that someday he could go out to the world and proclaim the good news of God to the world and help the poor to have a better life.  He knew that to become a priest is to be called to be like Christ, not only to preach the Gospel, but also to come to serve and to be a witness of God's love.

   In 1996, as a Brother of Domus Dei Society, he was sent to Switzerland for approximately six months to study German and to serve the Vietnamese Community from East to West in Switzerland.  From 1997 to 1998 he attended St. Benedict Seminary College in Covington, Louisiana to study Philosophy.  From 1999 to 2006 he attended Our Lady of Holy Cross College  and Notre Dame Seminary College in New Orleans, Louisiana to study Philosophy and Theology, earning his BA and MA degrees.  On June 3, 2006 he was ordained to the Priesthood at the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France, New Orleans, Louisiana.

   Sometimes he would ask himself why God had chosen him to be his servant as a priest.  The answer was always a mystery; he did not know why, but he kept thanking God for his love and grace.  He also prayed to God and begged Him to walk with him, to show him the way that he should go, and to help him recognize his face in any situation of his life.  He always asked God to sanctify him, to pour out his grace upon him, so that he could live his life faithfully to Him and to his brothers and sisters.

   Coming from a Communist country, Fr. Anthony truly understands how precious freedom is in our life, especially religious freedom.  Therefore, he said "I will try to work for peace, justice and human rights in whatever parish I will be assigned as a priest.  I will also try to serve the poor as best as I can because I am one of them in the parish."

 Father Anthony joined the Staff of St. Dominic Parish in February 2007 as Parochial Vicar.  We are blessed to have him.