John Trần Văn Nhàn[1] (also known as John-Nhan Tran or John Nhàn Trần[2]) (born February 6, 1966) is a Vietnamese-born prelate of the Catholic Church who has been serving as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Atlanta in Georgia since 2022.


John-Nhan Tran
Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta
Titular Bishop of Tullia
Bishop Nhàn, 2023
Native name
Gioan Trần Văn Nhàn
ChurchCatholic
ArchdioceseAtlanta
ProvinceAtlanta
SeeTullia
AppointedOctober 25, 2022
Other post(s)Titular Bishop of Tullia
Orders
OrdinationMay 30, 1992
by Francis B. Schulte
ConsecrationJanuary 23, 2023
by Gregory John Hartmayer, Gregory Michael Aymond, and Alfred Clifton Hughes
Personal details
Born
Trần Văn Nhàn

(1966-02-06) February 6, 1966 (age 58)
Alma materSaint Joseph Seminary College
Notre Dame Seminary
MottoDeus providebit
(God will provide)
Styles of
John Trần Văn Nhàn
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop

Biography

edit

Early life

edit

John-Nhan Tran was born in the Bình Giã district of South Vietnam on February 6, 1966, to Dung Van Tran and Lai Thi Nguyen.[3][4] When Tran was two years old, his mother was shot and killed during the Vietnam War. Tran's older brother was also killed by a land mine.[5] When Tran was nine, his family fled from Saigon, South Vietnam on a small boat. Running out of water, they were rescued from the South China Sea by an American ship. The family was later resettled in New Orleans, Louisiana.[5][3][2][6]

After primary school, Tran first attended Edna Karr Junior High School in New Orleans. Deciding that he wanted to become a priest, he was accepted into the high school program of the Congregation of the Mother of the Redeemer (then called the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix) in Carthage, Missouri, for the 8th grade in the school year of 1979-1980. He ended up only staying for three days before family circumstances caused him to drop out.[7] Tran then transferred to a boarding high school in Goshen, New York, operated by the Salesians of Don Bosco.[5] The Salesians then sent him to Don Bosco College, their seminary in Newton, New Jersey.[2]

The Salesians brought Tran back to Louisiana to attend Saint Joseph Seminary College in Saint Benedict, Louisiana. Tran then went to Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans.[2]

Priesthood

edit
 
Bishop Nhàn's alma mater, Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Tran was ordained to the priesthood on May 30, 1992, for the Archdiocese of New Orleans by Archbishop Francis B. Schulte.[8][4] After his ordination, the archdiocese assigned Tran as parochial vicar at the following Louisiana parishes:

  • Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Violet (1992 to 1995)
  • Visitation of Our Lady Parish in Marrero (1992 to 1997)
  • St. Angela Merici parish in Metairie (1992 to 1998)
  • Our Lady of Divine Providence parish in Metairie (1998 to 2001)[9]

In 2001, the archdiocese appointed Tran as pastor of St. Louise de Marillac Parish in Arabi, Louisiana. The archdiocese then transferred him to St. Bonaventure Parish in Avondale (2003-2007). During this period, Tran also served as chaplain for the St. Bernard's Sheriff's Office in the civil parish of Saint Bernard.[Note 1] After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, he celebrated Mass for first responders and other personnel in parking lots and nursing homes.[5][9]

Tran became pastor of St. Joan of Arc Parish in LaPlace from 2007 to 2014. In 2014, the archdiocese selected him as pastor of Mary, Queen of Peace Parish in Mandeville, Louisiana, his last pastoral assignment before becoming bishop.[9]

During his time in New Orleans, Tran served on the priest personnel board and as chair of the presbyteral council. He was also dean of the St. John-St. Charles Deanery. Tran is fluent in Vietnamese and English.[10][9] In 2015, Tran donated a kidney to Reverend Thanh Nguyen, a friend from Saint Joseph Seminary who was suffering kidney failure. [6]

Episcopacy

edit

Tran was appointed an auxiliary bishop of Atlanta and titular bishop of Tullia by Pope Francis on October 25, 2022.[3] He was consecrated by Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer on January 23, 2023, at St. Peter Chanel Church in Roswell, Georgia, with Archbishops Gregory Aymond and Alfred Hughes serving as co-consecrators.[10][4]

His episcopal motto comes from his time at Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, which was inscribed above the entrance of the building and the seminary's motto.[6]

See also

edit

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Here, the term "parish" refers to the governmental subdivision called a county in the majority of the United States, and not to a church community or "Portion of People of God" in the conventional Catholic sense.

References

edit
  1. ^ Lê Thị Kim Loan; Nguyễn Khoan. "Cha Gioan Trần Văn Nhàn được bổ nhiệm làm Giám Mục tại Hoa Kỳ". VietCatholic News. VietCatholic Network. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d "Most Reverend John Nhàn Trần". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  3. ^ a b c "Resignations and Appointments". press.vatican.va. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  4. ^ a b c "Bishop John-Nhàn Trần [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  5. ^ a b c d Stroup, Sheila (April 4, 2015). "Father John-Nhan Tran, having survived flight from Vietnam, feels blessed to be a priest". The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. Archived from the original on 9 April 2015.
  6. ^ a b c "Priest who escaped Vietnam named auxiliary bishop in the US". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  7. ^ MarianDaysNTM. "Ngày Thánh Mẫu 2023 - Thánh Lễ Đại Trào Bế Mạc Ngày Thánh Mẫu 2023 - 7:00AM Chúa Nhật 6.8.2023". YouTube. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  8. ^ Finney, Peter (25 October 2022). "Fr. John Tran named auxiliary bishop of Atlanta". Clarion Herald.
  9. ^ a b c d "Pope Francis Names New Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta | USCCB". www.usccb.org. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
  10. ^ a b Team, WDSU Digital (2022-10-25). "New Orleans priest named Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Atlanta". WDSU. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
edit