By JoAnn Biren
Staffwriter
Father Thien Nguyen has made his way west to lead the parishes of St. Ann’s, Slayton, St. Mary’s, Lake Wilson, and St. Columba, Iona.
On the first weekend Father Thien Nguyen was to celebrate the Sunday Mass in the cluster he was assigned by Bishop John Quinn, he concelebrated with the Diocese of Winona’s Vicar General, Reverend Monsignor Thomas Melvin at the Confirmation Mass at St. Ann’s. That was on October 1. Mass for the St. Mary, Lake Wilson and St. Columba, Iona parishes were scheduled for the following day, Sunday, October 2. The homily had Father sharing his story on how he came to be in southwest Minnesota. It’s an amazing story.
Father Thien Nguyen, (pronounced Thin Win) came to Minnesota via Saigon, Vietnam. He explained that his parents were from the north, and in 1954 when the country was divided many of those living in the north, “mostly Catholic,” according to Father, moved to the south. “However, many did not want to lose their ancestor land so a family member stayed in the north. In our family it was my uncle who stayed,” Father explained recently.
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