Dominic Mai Thanh Lương (20 December 1940 – 6 December 2017) was a

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

ese-born

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He was an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange from 2003-15.

Early life and education

Mai Thanh Lương was born in Trực Ninh of the province and near the city of Nam Định on 20 December 1940, the youngest of nine children. His father worked as a

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

. He received his early education at a French Vietnamese elementary school, and afterwards attended Holy Family Seminary High School. In 1954, he left home against his father's wishes to enter a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

. In 1956, he was sent by the Bishop of Da Nang to continue his studies in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where he enrolled at a diocesan seminary in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, two years later. He completed his philosophical and

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

studies at St. Bernard's Seminary, Rochester, New York.

Priesthood

Luong was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood on 21 May 1966. Although ordained for the Diocese of Da Nang, the increasing violence of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

prevented him from returning to his native country. He pursued

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

studies at

Canisius College Canisius College is a private Jesuit college in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 master's ...

in Buffalo, where he earned a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

degree in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

in 1967. He then served as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

at a hospital in Buffalo until 1975, when he became a curate at St. Louis Church, also in Buffalo. In 1976, Luong was

incardinated Incardination is the formal term in the Catholic Church for a clergyman being under a bishop or other ecclesiastical superior. It is also sometimes used to refer to laity who may transfer to another part of the church. Examples include transfers ...

in the Archdiocese of New Orleans at the invitation of Archbishop

Philip Hannan Philip Matthew Hannan (May 20, 1913 – September 29, 2011) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Washington from 1956 to 1965 and as the eleventh archbishop of the Archdio ...

, who assigned him to the spiritual care of Vietnamese refugees in southern Louisiana. He became an

American citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

the following year. He served as director of the Vietnamese Apostolate from 1976–83, and was named

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

o
Mary Queen of Vietnam Church
in New Orleans in 1983. In addition to his pastoral duties, he became rector of the Vietnamese Martyrs Chapel in 1986 and director of the National Center for the Vietnamese Apostolate in 1989. He was made a

monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

in 1986, and served as a member of the archdiocesan priests' council (1987–92) and dean of New Orleans East (2002–03).

Episcopacy

On 25 April 2003, Luong was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Cebarades by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on 11 June from Bishop

Tod David Brown Tod David Brown (born November 15, 1936) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Boise in Idaho from 1989 to 1998 and as bishop of the Diocese of Orange in Southern California from 1998 to ...

, with Archbishop

Alfred Clifton Hughes Alfred Clifton Hughes, Order of the Holy Sepulchre, KCHS (born December 2, 1932) is a retired United States, American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the 13th archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, Archdioce ...

and Bishop

Jaime Soto Jaime Soto (born December 31, 1955) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church. He has been serving as bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, Diocese of Sacramento in Northern California since 2007. He ...

serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

. He selected as his episcopal

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

: "You Are Strangers And Aliens No Longer" (). Luong has been an outspoken proponent for the rights of Catholics in Vietnam. He was the first native-born Vietnamese Roman Catholic Bishop in the United States. The Vatican announced that his resignation was accepted on 20 December 2015, his 75th birthday.

Death

Dominic died on 6 December 2017, aged 77 at Saint Joseph Hospital in Orange County, California.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange Official Site

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mai, Dominic, Thanh Lương 1940 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Vietnamese Roman Catholic priests Vietnamese emigrants to the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Canisius University alumni People from Hanoi Vietnamese Roman Catholic bishops