tvc.dsj.org | May 23, 2017
IN THE DIOCESE
3
Ready for Ordination; Diocese of San Jose Prepares to Ordain Two Men to Priesthood
By Liz Sullivan
For Gabriel Lee and Khoa Vu, one
journey is about to end and another
begin.
On the morning of June 3, Lee, 27
and Vu, 28, will be ordained priests
of the Diocese of San Jose by Bishop
Patrick J. McGrath during Mass at the
Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph. Lee
and Vu have spent the last year as tran-
sitional deacons serving the Diocese.
This is the first priestly ordination in
the Diocese since Father Jeff Fernandez
and Father Reynoldo Sarmiento were
ordained in 2014.
“I look forward with great joy to
June 3, the day we will ordain Khoa
and Gabriel to the Priesthood,” said the
Bishop. “I give thanks to their parents
and families for the gift that they are
making to the Lord and his Church. My
gratitude goes out also to the Vietnam-
ese and Korean Catholic communities
of our local Church who have helped
nurture and mature these vocations,
and to the priests and religious whose
ministries have been models of the
kind of service that these two young
Reverend Mr. Gabriel Lee Reverend Mr. Khoa Vu
men are embracing. I pray that they
will serve the people of the Diocese of
San Jose long into the future and that,
in doing so, will draw many to the
Lord Jesus.”
Lee was born in South Korea and
is the son of Won Hee Lee and Kyung
Ryu Choi. Along with a younger sister,
Lee immigrated to the United States
when he was in junior high school. He
converted to Catholicism when he at-
tended Serra High School in San Mateo.
From there, Lee attended San Jose City
College and Saint Patrick’s Seminary
and University.
Lee’s family are members of Holy
Korean Martyrs Parish. Lee spent his
pastoral year at Sacred Heart Parish,
Saratoga, and he will be the third Korean-American priest in the Diocese.
“Being a deacon was definitely a
meaningful experience,” said Lee, “but
I am certainly excited about the priest-
hood. This journey has been a mixture
of human consolation and desolation,
with tons of grace from God. Yet, it all
began with the Love of God and my
promise to love his people with all of
my heart, strength and knowledge.”
Vu will have the distinction of being
the first Vietnamese-American priest,
born in the United States, of the Diocese
of San Jose. He was born and raised in
San Jose, growing up in the now Our
Lady of La Vang Parish. The oldest of
five children, Vu is the son of Sim Van
Vu and Linda Kim Dang, who were im-
migrants from Vietnam and sponsored
by Holy Family Parish. Vu is a graduate
of Oak Grove High School, University
of California, Davis, and Saint Patrick’s
Seminary and University.
“Ordination is a gift from God,” said
Vu. “It is not something that I earned or
is a right of any individual. The Church
calls the candidate to Holy Orders. At
this moment, the feeling of gratitude
overwhelms me.
On July 1, Lee and Vu will officially
begin priestly service at their new
parishes as Parochial Vicars. Lee has
been assigned to Saint Frances Cabrini
Parish and Vu will serve Saint Francis
of Assisi Parish in the same role.
“My hope and dream is just to be
able to do the work the Lord entrusted
me to do to the best of my ability,” said
Vu. “There is nothing more satisfying
than working with the Lord in the
vineyard.”
Said Lee, “I have no doubt I will fall
in love with the people of God and my
ministries as I did Holy Korean Mar-
tyrs, Sacred Heart Saratoga, Our Lady
of Guadalupe and Palo Alto Catholic
Community. I will be there with my
hope to meet everyone in the parish,
office and the parochial school.”