Welcoming Fr. Thomas Tran, Our Parish’s New Parochial Vicar: “This Feels Like Home”

When Fr. Thomas Tran was growing up in Southern Vietnam, he lived 10 minutes from his church and used to walk to Mass nearly every day.

“I first felt called to the priesthood when I was 13 years old after serving at the altar, serving Christ and being close to Him,” Fr. Thomas says. “It is that age when you start to think about the future, and if you should get married, have a career, or become a priest.”

On July 1, Fr. Thomas Tran joined Saint Michael Parish as our new Parochial Vicar. The oldest of five siblings, Fr. Thomas went to public schools in Vietnam, considering no private schools are allowed in the country. He remembers his first impressions of the Church and praying to discern his vocation.

“I didn’t have a personal prayer life at that age, but I went to church and had catechism every Sunday from kindergarten through high school,” Fr. Thomas says. “I also spent a few years working with the missionary sisters and going out to help the poor. We reflected on the Gospel and then brought that fruit to the people.”

Fr. Thomas Tran, Saint Michael’s New Parochial Vicar

Inspired by working with the missionary sisters, Fr. Thomas prayed with them about his future and his vocation. The sisters encouraged him to go spend time discerning at a monastery.

“After one week with the Cistercians, I fell in love with the community, the chanting, the songs,” Fr. Thomas says. “I wanted to be part of it, and I lived with that community for 14 months before I discerned a further vocation.”

In January 2003, Fr. Thomas joined a rural Trappist community in Vina, Calif., at the Abbey of New Clairvaux. The transition to the United States was very challenging for him.

“It was a very hard adjustment for me,” Fr. Thomas admits, “I was adapting to new cultures, new languages, new systems, and ways of being. I was lucky to live with American people, and that was a big support for me, especially with the language.”

After several years with the Trappist community, Fr. Thomas was struggling with severe allergies and decided again to discern his vocation. Now he was led to consider becoming a diocesan priest. He was accepted into the Archdiocese of Seattle on Aug. 1, 2010.

“They placed me in a parish for the pastoral experience for one year before they sent me to seminary,” Fr. Thomas says. “In the fall of 2011, I started studying philosophy at Gonzaga in Spokane. Then I studied theology at Mount Angel Seminary and then spent one year at SMP in Olympia.”

Fr. Thomas was ordained to the priesthood on June 6, 2020, and he is particularly looking forward to returning to SMP. He also anticipates serving the Vietnamese community. He enjoys playing ping-pong, bicycling, fishing, and camping.

“I am excited to go back, and this feels like home to me,” Fr. Thomas says. “I was a seminarian before, but now I am a priest in the community, and I have a good relationship with the people. My goal is to assist Fr. Jim and support him.”

Let us welcome Fr. Thomas back to our SMP faith community this month!