Fr. Paul Nguyen reflects on 25 years of priestly service

By RENEE WEBB
Content and Design Coordinator

Although Father Cuong (Paul) Nguyen, pastor of St. Sebastian Parish of Pocahontas, has officially been a priest of the Diocese of Sioux City for just two years, this year he will mark his 25^th anniversary of priesthood.

It was on Jan. 1, 2023 when he was incardinated into the diocese, after serving as a priest of the Society of the Divine Word for nearly 23 years.

This spring he will be among the clergy to be recognized at the Jubilee Mass slated for May 5 at St. Mary Parish in Storm Lake.

Father Nguyen reflected on his 25 years of priesthood and said this life has been a good fit for him.

“Honestly, I know I cannot do things by myself - without God,” he said. 

Acknowledging that life is filled with ups and downs as well as temptations, he has found many blessings of priesthood especially in service to God’s people.

Greatest joys
Through the years, his greatest joys of priesthood have come through celebrating the sacraments and the pastoral care of parishioners.

“It’s a wonderful thing to celebrate the sacraments – to celebrate Mass every day for the community, hear confessions, baptize the children and visit the homebound and sick,” said Father Nguyen, who noted that funeral Masses and offering comfort to those who have lost a loved one is particularly meaningful.

His faith, he noted, has seen him through some challenging times including a current health issue with kidney disease. Because his kidneys are not functioning properly, for about the last four months he has been on dialysis three days per week.

“They say it will be a life-long treatment and encouraged me to have a kidney transplant,” said Father Nguyen, who mentioned he is not interested in surgery at this time. “God gave me this body and if it is not functioning I just enjoy one day at a time and do whatever I can. If he calls me home early, that’s fine.”

He pointed out that many in the community ask him why he doesn’t reach out for more help, but it is important for him to continue his duties.

“It’s my duty, it’s my vocation,” said Father Nguyen, who noted he gets so much joy out of offering the sacraments that he wants to continue to fully serve even though he is very tired after the dialysis. “The more I work, I gain a lot of wonderful things. With the grace of God, I am able to do this. Without him, I cannot.”

Born and raised in Vietnam, Father Nguyen was 13 years old when he moved with part of his family to the United States, meeting up with his father and other family members in Boone. He mentioned in childhood he previously had some kidney problems.

Father Nguyen’s older brother, Father Peter Nguyen is also a priest of the Diocese of Sioux City who ministers to the Vietnamese community in Sioux City and serves as parochial vicar at Mater Dei Parish in Sioux City.

The younger Nguyen priest pointed out that he didn’t follow his older brother to the seminary – it was the other way around.

“He followed me,” explained the St. Sebastian pastor. “Peter was at Iowa State for two years and when I was in high school I told my mom that I was going to enter seminary. I asked him to accompany me to the school in Epworth, Iowa, so we went together and when we came back he talked to my mom and said, ‘I’m going too.’”

After graduating from Boone High School, he attended Divine Word College in Epworth which is a seminary for Catholic missionaries run by his former religious order. He completed theological studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and was ordained for the Society of the Divine Word on June 4, 2000. His brother was ordained for the Diocese of Sioux City.

Drawn to be missionary
The priest mentioned he was originally drawn to the religious order because of its focus on missionary work. His desire was to serve out of the country, which he did for several years in Argentina. There, he ministered in Spanish but noted it is a different dialect than that of Spanish-speakers from Mexico. 

“When I was back home for leave, my provincial asked me to see him. He asked if I would sacrifice mission to stay home and serve the new parish – St. Joseph the Worker in Wheeling, Illinois (Chicago area) – so I said okay and came back home,” he said.

Father Nguyen celebrated Mass in that parish in both English and Spanish, serving in the parish for eight years. Next, he served in the Diocese of Des Moines for a few years. His parents and most of his family live near Ankeny.

Diocesan work
From there, Father Nguyen had asked his brother if there was a need for priests in the Diocese of Sioux City and he learned there was. With the approval of Bishop Walker Nickless, he received permission from his community to take a temporary assignment in the diocese. 

His initial assignment in the diocese was to assist in the parishes of Boone County – Boone, Madrid and Ogden – that now make up Ascension Parish. He was then assigned as parochial vicar for parishes in Denison, Manning and Vail. In July of 2021 he was assigned to the parishes in Akron and Hawarden until his present assignment.

“I thought about it, prayed over it – it was a bit of challenging time – but I decided to go ahead and incardinate into the Diocese of Sioux City,” said Father Nguyen. “God called me to come back to my home diocese and honestly I think this was the right thing to do.”

And while missionary work is close to his heart, he noted that in his time with the diocese and traveling to different towns and churches to celebrate Mass is similar to what he had to do in his ministry in Argentina. Presently, he celebrates the weekend liturgy for his parish in the churches at Pocahontas and Fonda.

“Here in Iowa, it’s traveling. You never stay in one place,” he said. “Whenever people need help, you just be there for them.”

Father Nguyen acknowledged that the one thing about being a diocesan priest which he is not that big of a fan of is having to remember to pay bills and do taxes. When he was a missionary he had no salary – but also no bills.

The priesthood he mentioned, however, has given him many wonderful experiences and he is most grateful for his parish community accepting him.

“I am thankful the community accepts me for who I am, what I am and I am working to serve to the best of my ability,” said Father Nguyen. 

He mentioned that on the day of his ordination, it was so wonderful that he thought it was a dream.

“When I look back I thank God that he guided me,” said Father Nguyen, noting that God asked of him as with all people that they do the best they can and then God takes care of the rest. And where life has many blessings, he added everyone faces some difficulties, challenges and sickness – “but we have to appreciate it and thank God for it.”