Vatican Announces Retirement of Bishop Dominic Luong, First Vietnamese-American Bishop
GARDEN GROVE, CA – The Vatican on Sunday announced the retirement of the Most Rev. Dominic Dinh Mai Luong, D.D., of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, effective January 2016. Bishop Luong is the first and only Vietnamese-American Bishop in the United States.
“We have been blessed to have Bishop Dominic and we congratulate him on his retirement and his service to the Lord for nearly 50 years as a faithful priest and bishop,” said Father Steve Sallot, Vicar General, in a statement.
A Lifetime of Service: Key Milestones
- 1956: Arrived in the U.S. from Vietnam at age 16 to continue his formation for the priesthood.
- 1966: Ordained a priest in Lackawanna, New York.
- 1976: Began his pivotal ministry to Vietnamese refugees as Director of the Archdiocesan Vietnamese Apostolate in New Orleans.
- 2003: Appointed by Pope John Paul II as the first native-born Vietnamese Roman Catholic Bishop in the United States and ordained as Auxiliary Bishop of Orange.
- 2016: Retires after nearly 50 years of dedicated service.
Early Life and Journey to America
Born on December 20, 1940, in North Vietnam, Dominic Dinh Mai Luong was the second youngest of 11 children in a devout Catholic family. After attending a junior seminary, his bishop sent him to the United States in 1956 to continue his studies. At just 16 years old, he began a long and difficult separation from his family and country, which he would not see again until 1979.
He studied at the Diocesan Preparatory Seminary in Buffalo and Saint Bernard’s Major Seminary in Rochester, New York. On May 21, 1966, he was ordained to the priesthood. Unable to return to his home diocese because of the war in Vietnam, he completed master’s degrees in biology and psychology and taught in Buffalo.
A Leader for His People
After the fall of South Vietnam, Father Luong’s experience providentially suited him to be a leader for the many refugees arriving in the United States. In 1976, he moved to New Orleans to become the Director of the Archdiocesan Vietnamese Apostolate and later became the Founding Pastor of Mary, Queen of Vietnam Parish.
His work expanded to the national level as Director of the National Center for the Vietnamese Apostolate and as the U.S. Conference of Bishops’ Director of Pastoral Care for Migrants and Refugees. For this important work, Pope John Paul II honored him with the title of Monsignor.
A Historic Episcopacy in Orange County
On April 25, 2003, Pope John Paul II appointed Monsignor Luong as Auxiliary Bishop of Orange. He was ordained to the fullness of the priesthood on June 11, 2003, at Saint Columban Church in Garden Grove.
- Bishop Tod Brown, who petitioned for his appointment, noted at the time: “Not only is he a person with deep spirituality and dedicated heart, but he also possesses well-honed leadership skills.”
- In an article for the Orange County Catholic, retired Bishop Norman McFarland observed: “This is a happening of major historical significance…it speaks no less graphically of the role of the Vietnamese community as a burgeoning and integral part of the local Church.”
- Bishop-elect Luong acknowledged that the appointment recognized the “many contributions with which 400,000 Vietnamese Catholics…have enriched the Church in the United States.”