Meet Fr. Tuan Le

Dear Parishioners of SEAS,

First of all, we give thanks to almighty God for the gift of life, the gift of family, the gift of faith and the gift of parish community.  I am truly grateful to God for my vocation to the priesthood. I thank you, and Fr. Bradley, for accepting me into this parish community to assist him in serving you. Thank you so much for your warm welcome! 

I want to introduce myself to you.  I am Father Tuan Le.  I prefer to be called Father Tuan. I was ordained a priest in June 3rd, 2006, at Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Dallas. I recently served at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Dallas for exactly five years. Now I am here to serve you. I was born on August 18,1967, in Saigon, Vietnam. When I was a child, I went to Mass every day.  I became an altar server when I was about thirteen years old.  One day I was preparing for Mass, when I suddenly had a desire to wear the vestments that the priest wore to celebrate Mass. I pictured myself as a future priest. At seventeen I heard God call me to study to become a priest, but I could not do so because the government did not allow me. This was  because my Dad lived in the United States at the time. That meant we were against the government, so I could not study to become a priest. My Dad and his older brother had escaped Vietnam 1981.  After ten years, in 1991, my Dad was able to sponsor my mother, myself, three younger brothers and two sisters to come to the United States. After a few months of living in the US, I began to work in order to help my parents take care of my younger brothers and sisters. Finally, when my brothers were able to go to work and my sisters were going to school I quit my job to continue my studies. 

In 1993, I felt the calling to serve as a priest and applied to the Diocese of Dallas. I was accepted, and began attending Holy Trinity Seminary where I studied English for three years. After this, I was sent to Saint Joseph Seminary College in Louisiana, and there I spent four years working on my undergraduate studies. I graduated in the spring of 2001.  After graduation I entered St. Mary’s Seminary in August 2001 and I was ordained a priest in June 3rd, 2006. After over fourteen years of Ordination to Priesthood, I am very happy being a priest and servant of Christ, serving Him and His people. I also know that the people whom I serve in the parish are walking with me on the journey. We are God’s family; a family which supports me with prayers and encouragement. 

I have been blessed by having my parents living nearby here in The Colony and being able to visit them on my day off before my tee off. More importantly, I have been blessed by the knowledge that I am part of a bigger family here at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish. You have welcomed me into the parish and into your family’s lives. 

Something that’s good to know is, I do not preach long, but sometimes the Holy Spirit inspires me so it takes a little longer. You just give me a signal, so I know when to stop. One more thing that is good to know is that I speak with an accent and can be hard to understand sometimes. The most challenging thing for me is remembering names. I may ask you to remind me your name at least ten times when we salute each other. Believe it or not this is my fifth assignment to serve here at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. 

I am very happy being a priest and knowing that God uses me to bring the Good News to His people. The center of my life is the Holy Eucharist.  When I am celebrating the Holy Eucharist, I recognize the presence of God in my life, and my ministry is again renewed as something very real, very meaningful, and very spiritual. 

My gratitude to all of you for being so kind and welcoming! I look forward to serving you here in this parish community of faith and love.  I will continue to pray for all of you. Please pray for me too, that God will strengthen me for the ministry that lies ahead! 
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us.

May God keep you and your family safe and healthy!
In Christ,
Fr. Tuan Le