The priesthood requires prayer and dedication

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Father Hahn at the Corpus Christi Cathedral where he was ordained 25-years ago and now serves as rector.

Contributed photo.

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When South Vietnam fell to North Vietnam in 1975, Father Hanh Van Pham fled from Ben Da in southwest Vietnam with his mother, father and six siblings. They made their way to the United States for safety. They spent time in Arkansas, Louisiana and California meeting up with other members of their extended family, but finally settled in Rockport, Texas because his father wanted to continue his work as a fisherman. 

It was expected that Father Hanh would also become a fisherman, like many others in his family. But God had other plans.

“Growing up, all children want to be like their parents, so I naturally wanted to be a fisherman. But we soon found out I suffered from severe motion sickness. Since I couldn’t catch fish, instead I was called to be a fisher of men,” he said, with a chuckle.

He had hopes of joining a minor seminary when he was in fifth grade, while still in Vietnam. The Communist takeover and his fleeing to the United States interrupted those plans. 
 

Father Hahn with his mother and Bishop Rene Gracida at his ordination at the Corpus Christi Cathedral in 1992. Contributed photo.

“It didn’t occur to me to apply for the seminary in the United States until my father passed away suddenly, when I was only 16-years-old. But the priest told me I was too young,” he said. 

After his father’s death, Father Hanh helped his mother with household expenses by working on a shrimp boat, despite the physical challenges of being at sea.
“I had lost a lot of weight and then it occurred to me; I don’t think God created me to pick up shrimp. I felt God was calling me to something different. Being a fisherman is an honorable profession; just think of the Apostles. It just wasn’t my calling,” he said.

On Jan. 25, 1992, Father Hanh was ordained into the priesthood by Bishop Rene Gracida at the Corpus Christi Cathedral. In the years that followed, he served parishes at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Ss. Cyril and Methodius, St. Thomas More and St. Phillip the Apostle, before returning to Corpus Christi Cathedral, where he ministers today as rector. 
The priesthood is a calling that requires prayer and dedication, he noted.

“It takes a mixture of service with love, trust and faith in God and his people. Over the years, people have taught me how to love, how to organize, how to help me manage finances and many other things,” he said. “I’m grateful to recognize parishioners’ talents and ask them to help the Church where they are needed.”

Father Hanh has had many memorable moments in his 25 years as a priest, but one humbling incident is a reminder of God’s ability to grant miracles, despite the worst of circumstances.

“It was a busy Sunday and after three Masses back-to-back, I had not eaten breakfast or lunch. At 2 p.m. someone called asking for anointing of the sick for a friend. I went, but not with prayerful intentions. I learned the cancer patient had just been told her cancer had spread all over.”

Father Hanh anointed her, left and did not think much about it until later when the cancer patient came back to visit him with some remarkable news. 

“She told me the doctors told her that the cancer was gone. All I know is that it wasn’t me. She was so grateful I had stopped by and anointed her, but I reminded her it wasn’t me,” he said adamantly. “God was teaching me a lesson because I came to her with less than a cheerful attitude. This is a story I share at retreats all of the time, because God wanted to show me he could work miracles in spite of me.”