Jacksonville, Fla. – Pope Francis has named Father Thanh Thai Nguyen as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange. Father Nguyen, 64, currently serves as pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Jacksonville – one of the largest parishes in the Diocese of St. Augustine with 4,000 families.

Bishop-elect Nguyen will be ordained at the Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif. of the Diocese of Orange on Dec. 19. His last day at St. Joseph’s is Nov. 5.

He has chosen as his motto “He Leads Me” from Psalm 23 – the Lord is my shepherd.

Thanh said the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd has always resonated with him. And he hopes to emulate it when he assumes his duties in Southern California after his ordination.

“I look at my life, and I see that God has been leading me from Vietnam to the Philippines to the priesthood to Jacksonville and now to California,” he said.

It was the early 1980s, and Thanh Thai Nguyen had been in the United States for about three years. He was living in Hartford, Conn., teaching in a public school by day and studying electronic engineering at night.

Thanh grew up in Vietnam, one of 11 children, during the Vietnam War. He entered the seminary but was forced to stop his studies as the communists took over the country after the war.

In 1979, Thanh and his extended family left the country in a small boat heading for the Philippines. Many times, during the 18-day journey, Thanh said they thought they would never see land again. The boat’s engine died, and they ran out of food and water. Thanh said when they reached safety, he thanked God for saving his life and offered his own life in service.

In the early 1980s, Thanh was living in Hartford, Conn., teaching in public school by day and studying electronics in a technical school by night. He could make a good living in electronics, but he kept thinking about his time in seminary and the promise he made God.

“The Holy Spirit stirred it up,” he said.

So, he decided to drop out of technical school and enter the seminary. He studied philosophy for two years and graduated cum laude. He joined the Missionaries of Our Lady of LaSalette order in 1984 and served as a priest of that congregation for eight years. He was ordained a priest in 1991.

He was sent to do pastoral work in Atlanta, where he encountered many Vietnamese. He began an outreach to the community, but when his religious order disapproved of his new ministry, he left the order and in 1996 found a new home in the Diocese of St. Augustine.

For 17 years, Thanh served Christ the King Parish, where he began a ministry to the Vietnamese and built a Vietnamese center. Since 2014 he has been pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Mandarin, where he has reached out to Brazilians with a Portuguese Mass.

 “I know this is going to be very emotional,” Thanh said. “It was very emotional leaving Christ the King after 17 years, and I just went across town.”

In Orange County, Thanh will oversee the ministry to the Vietnamese community, the largest population of Vietnamese outside of Vietnam.

Thanh said he wants to draw on his experience as a refugee to serve as a bridge of understanding between the Vietnamese and Americans in Orange County.

“I know that quite a few of the Vietnamese, especially those 50 and older, will have had the same experiences I had. I want to encourage them to share their story. I think there is a blessing and grace when we share our human journey sincerely. It’s like the road to Emmaus. It’s where you encounter God.”