By Soccom Korea

Seoul, Korea, 8 April 2024 -- The Korean Province has begun the Extraordinary Visitation by the EAO Regional, Fr Joseph Nguyen Thinh Phuoc, from today through to 6 June. During his visit, Fr. Joseph will visit all the communities to meet with confreres, review pastoral activities, and meet with members of the Salesian Family, including collaborators as well as Salesian Cooperators.

Fr. Joseph was born in 1955, the third of 10 siblings in a devout family in the Southern part of Vietnam. After graduating from high school, he joined the Salesians and professed his first vows in 1974. At the time, Vietnam was in the throes of the Civil War, and when the country became fully communist in April 1975, his family moved to the United States, but he remained in Vietnam as a Salesian. Studying to become a priest under difficult conditions, he was sent to study in Berkeley, California, and was ordained on 9 September 1995. He continued his studies there, earning a doctorate in theology in 2002 before returning to Vietnam.

Since then, he has been involved in formation activity in Vietnam and has been a member of the provincial council since 2015 as provincial delegate for Formation. In August 2019, the Mission Department in Rome appointed him to be in charge of new missionary formation, and in the midst of preparations, including visa arrangements, the 28th General Chapter elected him to be the EAO Regional.

While dedicating himself to formation, he was also deeply involved in the translation of Salesian materials, translating several books into Vietnamese. He is also a very practical Salesian who has made many efforts to promote the oratory in the formation house in HCM city, one of them being the establishment of an ice cream-making machine, where he made dozens of kilograms of ice cream almost every day to provide to the children in oratory.

"I have made Extraordinary Visitations to all the provinces in the EAO Region. There are only three left - Korea, Thailand, and Cebu Province - and as I visit each one, I hear so many beautiful stories of vocations from the confreres. It is a great grace for me to be able to meet members who are considered exemplary and even on the level of sainthood. I look forward to hearing many more beautiful stories of the confreres here in Korea." He began an Extraordinary visit to the Korean Province with Goodnight in the provincial house.

In addition to the usual Extraordinary visits, each community will be consulted during the visit for the next provincial superior, who will start from the coming February.

With this Extraordinary Visitation by Fr. Phuoc, we wish the Korean Province, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary of presence, all the blessings of God.

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