Thanh  Tran

Father Thanh Tran is Catholic priest, living and serving in the Diocese of Christchurch in New Zealand. He was born and grew up in a Catholic village in the middle part of Vietnam. While studying to become a politician in Saigon, the biggest city in Vietnam, he was touched by the grace of God and decided to come to New Zealand for the priesthood.

He first stepped on this land in July, 2008 with the assets of about ten words of English. Life was so challenging for this young man. It was very hard to learn the language. His health started to become poor. He faced a lot of culture shocks. He was homesick too. Nevertheless, with the grace of God and the love, support, care and prayers from the people whom he has met, his journey in New Zealand has been beautiful though there have been a lot of challenges and hardships on the way. He believes that it was a miracle the Lord had done for him when He chose him to be a priest of his holy people. He keeps reminding and encouraging himself that “nothing is impossible for God,” especially when he faces hardships and difficulties. He has been serving in his first parish as an assistant priest for nearly two years. It has been a wonderful time for him. He feels blessed, privileged and happy with the vocation he is living.