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Rev. Thuan
Van Hoang was born on October 16, 1956 in Saigon, known
today as Hochiminh City, Vietnam. His seminary education
began at the age of 12 at St. Joseph Minor Seminary,
followed by his studies in philosophy and theology at
St. Joseph Major Seminary from 1977 through 1983. Throughout
this time, Thuan also taught catechism to children and
young adults as well as assisted the pastor of his hometown
parish, while earning a living as a tricycle driver
from 1984 through 1987. In May of 1987, Thuan escaped
by boat from Vietnam, landing at Galang Island, Indonesia.
Over the next 15 months he resided in two refugee camps
in Indonesia and in the Philippines and then immigrated
to the United States, settling in San Jose, California.
Thuan attended
Evergreen College and San Jose State University, majoring
in Computer Information Systems and was employed in
the booming high tech industry at companies known
then as Datalogic and Telecommunication in San Jose
and later at Invision in Foster City. In September
1992, Thuan continued the pursuit of his priestly vocation
at Saint Patrick Seminary and University where he earned
the Pontifical Sacred Theology Bachelor (STB) degree
and Master Divinity (M. Div.) and was subsequently certified
at the Seminarys Clinical Pastoral Education (C.P.E.)
Internship Program at Saint Marys Hospital in San Francisco.
In the summer of 1995, while serving at Saint Veronica
Church in South San Francisco, he became a citizen of
the United States of America. On May 31, 1997, Father
Thuan Hoang was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese
of San Francisco.
Upon ordination,
Fr. Thuan took up ministry as Parochial Vicar at St.
Cecilia Parish in San Francisco, where he provided counseling
to numerous parishioners, devoting much time to the
infirmed at local hospitals. Following his four year
assignment in this parish, the Archdiocese sent Fr.
Thuan to Catholic University of America to study Canon
Law, where he graduated in 2003 with Licentiate of Canon
Law (J.C.L.)
In July 2003,
Fr. Thuan was assigned to the Metropolitan Tribunal
of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, first as Defender
of the Bond and later as an Ecclesial Judge and Promotor
of Justice. Over the past five years, Fr. Thuan has
ministered as Parochial Vicar, faithfully serving and
counseling parishioners from all walks of life at Saint
Philip Church and Most Holy Redeemer Church in San Francisco.
He currently serves as Parochial Vicar at the Church
of the Visitacion in San Francisco. Fr. Thuan has also
volunteered his services at the San Francisco County
Jail, and at Juvenile Hall in San Mateo County. He is
currently a Chaplain for a local assembly of the Knights
of Columbus.
In response
to requests for support from newly opened schools and
centers for blind children and orphans in Vietnam, Fr.
Thuan founded the Blind Vietnamese Children Foundation
in 2000. He has served as President of the Executive
Board where he tirelessly raises funds for the support
and development of educational and vocational programs
for visually-challenged, now served at dozens of locations.
Under Fr. Thuans enthusiastic leadership, the Foundation
has successfully funded the construction of a new facility
in Bao Loc that opened its doors in 2008. |
