Vietnamese community loses beloved priest

Father Augustine Thanh Hue Nguyen, former pastor at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Pensacola, died May 12.

PEGGY DEKEYSER | FLORIDA CATHOLIC PENSACOLA-TALLAHASSEE BUREAU EDITOR

Posted: 05.21.09

PEGGY DEKEYSER | FC
Bishop John H. Ricard, SSJ, blesses the casket of Father Augustine Thanh Hue Nguyen with holy water to begin Mass.

PENSACOLA | St. Thomas More Church was filled May 16 with the friends and family of Father Augustine Thanh Hue Nguyen, 80. They came to pray their goodbyes to the man who had been their spiritual father since he arrived from Vietnam in 1985.

Bishop John H. Ricard, SSJ, presided at the Mass of Christian Burial. Priests from across the diocese and beyond came to concelebrate and pay their last respects to their friend and mentor.

In his homily, Bishop Ricard recalled, “Father Augustine was ever faithful to God’s call, winter or summer, day or night, in reward or in rejection. He understood that the sole purpose of his being was to follow Christ wherever that led him, and for whatever purpose Christ intended, for he knew that it was in following him that he would find his greatest joy and happiness.”

Father Nguyen came to the diocese after suffering imprisonment in his native Vietnam following the decades-long conflict there. Ordained in 1964 at the height of the war in Vietnam, he served as a professor of philosophy and theology for more than 20 years. Once in the U.S., he helped establish the SS. Peter and Paul Mission in Panama City. Later, he served the community of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Pensacola, helping to build the church, parish hall and classrooms adjacent to St. Thomas More Parish. Following his retirement in 2007, he continued to serve the Vietnamese community both at the parish and across northwest Florida.

“Father Augustine was not only a spiritual father to the members of the parishes he served, he was a trusted and respected friend to the broader Vietnamese community across northwest Florida,” said Father Dominic Dat Tran, pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Niceville. “Father Augustine not only was respected by Catholics, but by Buddhists and members of other faiths, and they always invited him to take part in their celebrations.” Father Tran succeeded Father Nguyen as pastor at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Pensacola when Father Nguyen retired in 2007. Following his retirement, Father Nguyen was in residence at St. Mary Parish in Pensacola.

The choir at the funeral liturgy sang in both Vietnamese and English. Readings were proclaimed in both languages as well.

Mourners throughout the assembly wore white scarves, either tied around their heads or draped at their necks, a traditional sign of mourning in Vietnamese culture.

“Usually, the white scarves are only worn by the family of the deceased,” said My-Dung Do. “In this case, everyone is wearing them, because we all feel that Father Augustine is our family, our father.”

Father Nguyen is survived by three sisters: Cecilia Nguyen Thi Phuoc; Nguyen Thi Kim Anh and Nguyen Thi Hong; two brothers: Nguyen Hien and Nguyen Ngoc Duong; two nieces: Elise Nguyen Thi Son and Nguyen Thi Nhu Oanh; and nephew, Nguyen Van Trinh. He also leaves behind the parishioners and extended friends and family of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Parish.

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