{"id":6236,"date":"2023-03-17T19:29:02","date_gmt":"2023-03-18T02:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/?p=6236"},"modified":"2023-03-19T14:05:10","modified_gmt":"2023-03-19T21:05:10","slug":"memories-of-fr-paul-chuong-nguyen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/2023\/03\/17\/memories-of-fr-paul-chuong-nguyen\/","title":{"rendered":"Memories of Fr. Paul Chuong Nguyen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fr. Paul was an inspiration to my husband Deacon Ed and myself. We became very close when he was in Tampa. He went to the Vatican and sent us a signed note from the pope and a papal blessing. That was the kind of man he was, he was always concerned about others. He was so spiritual and so funny. He will be greatly missed. I am sorry now I did not bug him more to see the doctor. He would have chosen to go in his sleep gently and quietly. He will be dearly missed by myself and my family.<\/em> –Lorraine Anctil<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When Kris and I came from Jersey for the summer, we had an extended Quarantine at St. Joseph\u2019s Retreat Center. Fr. Paul took it upon himself to be our spiritual guide during our stay. We would pull up chairs in front of the altar and he would offer us daily Mass with morning prayer. As a homily, he would ask us controversial questions and discuss them with us. Kris reached out to me yesterday and we reminisced. He was a great man and priest.<\/em>
–Leo I<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you ever needed to get something done, Paul was your guy. You could ask him for favors that were beyond his ability and he would say \u201cLet me get back to you\u201d and lo and behold, there he was in a few hours (the time it took to go to Anaheim and back) with what was needed. I was very impressed with his connections and how willing people were to always help Paul and his trillions of needs. He was greatly trusted by everyone to be on our mission. When Covid-19 hit and everyone went into lockdown to spare their health and the health of those around them, bodies were piling up at the funeral homes and funeral services were impossible to attend. Enter stage left, Paul. St. Joseph\u2019s became THE place for the grieving of lost ones while everyone else was hiding behind monitors and closed doors. Most days he had 3 to 5 funerals, all outside in fresh air, all caring for the people in need. Was Paul crazy? Absolutely, as we are all called to be crazy for our Gospel mission. AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul came to me one day and said \u201cwe have to do something\u201d about Covid. A few teachers, some graduating Seniors from Bosco Tech and Paul went to work designing, building, and delivering face shields for health care workers. I forget how many thousands we put together for those in need and we were delighted to do something as Bosco Tech. \u201cPaul, how much do we owe you for these supplies\u201d after receiving tons of specialized plastics, glues and elastic? He looked at me like I was crazy and said \u201cit\u2019s all covered, don\u2019t worry about it.\u201d He found a donor to take care of supplies – never a word about donation letters or thank you\u2019s. Those of us at Bosco Tech thought we were hot stuff helping so many health care workers, filling a great need for our neighbors. One day I was picking up giant specialized plastic boards in Anaheim when I got to see what the Vietnamese supporters were up to: thousands of shields, millions of face masks, medical gowns\u2026anything and everything was being produced in a humble shop, by humble people and led by a humble Salesian Priest: Paul.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you, Paul, for your brotherly love and devotion.
<\/em>–Tom M<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n