By Gia Myers • Posted May 12, 2025

This is the second in a series of five profiles of the men to be ordained new priests for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia on May 17.

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Deacon Peter Nho V. Nguyen says that throughout his childhood in Vietnam, he remembers his mother often praying that her five sons would become priests, a prayer which he says guided his heart – and the heart of a younger brother – to priestly vocations.

Nguyen is now one of five transitional deacons who will be ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez on May 17 at 10 a.m. at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia.

He is one of seven children of Peter Tam and Anna Thao, both farmers planting rice and raising livestock,  and devout Catholics who are active in their church.

He attended public schools in Vietnam during his youth and enjoyed playing soccer with friends in his rural village of Quỳnh Tân.

He also became an altar server starting at age 5, attended catechism classes and spent much time at church praying the rosary.

Nguyen wanted to become a priest as early as he can remember. He was inspired by the “beauty and freedom” of the lives of priests at his home parish in Vietnam, he said, adding, .“I wanted to become one of them.”

After completing studies in tourism at  Huế University in his home country, Nguyen desired to experience missionary life living abroad.

He spent a year with the Missionary Society of St. Paul in the Philippines, a Catholic religious order that works with poor and marginalized people and encourages youths through music education programs.

Despite his admiration for the work of the missionaries, Nguyen says he felt drawn to being a parish priest and came to the U.S. seven years ago to begin his seminary studies.

Nguyen entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary after receiving encouragement from Father John C. Nguyen (known as Father Chung), pastor of St. Maria Goretti Parish in Hatfield.

Of seminary life, Nguyen learned to appreciate living and studying with other men who “share the same desire to be holy priests,” he said, and he highly values those friendships.

He also has a love for “the beauty of the liturgy” at the seminary, which he says has deepened his prayer life.

As a transitional deacon, Nguyen served at St. Stanislaus Parish in Lansdale, where he said he “enjoyed making friends with a lot of people and living in that community.”

After he is ordained a priest, Nguyen looks forward “to being with people in a parish,” celebrating Mass and the sacraments, and having the privilege of accompanying people “during difficult times in their lives,” he said.

At the Ordination Mass, Nguyen’s priestly vestments will be placed upon him for the first time by his godfather, Father Joseph Linh Dinh Nguyen, a priest of Ben Den Parish in Vietnam.

Nguyen’s parents will also travel from Vietnam to attend the ordination Mass.

His favorite saints who will be included in the Litany of the Saints chanted during the Mass include: St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the patron saint of missionaries, who Nguyen admires for “the simplicity of her prayer life (and) her love for Christ;” and St. Andrew Dũng-Lạc and his over 100 companions who were martyred for their faith in Vietnam between 1820 and 1862.

For any young man considering the priesthood, Nguyen advises him to “have courage” and “take steps to discover the invitation of God” in their lives, he said.

Nguyen will celebrate his first Mass as an ordained priest at St. Maria Goretti Church – which he now calls his home parish – on May 18. Fittingly, the homilist will be Father Chung, who encouraged Nguyen during his vocation journey.