Former Vietnamese refugee to become Toronto bishopLast Updated: Tuesday, January 12, 2010 11:01 AM ET
CBC News
Vincent Nguyen will become the youngest bishop in Canada. (Archdiocese of Toronto)
Canada's newest, youngest-ever, Catholic bishop will be ordained on Wednesday, marking the latest chapter in an incredible life that includes a life-changing journey in a leaky boat on the South China Sea more than 25 years ago.
Vincent Nguyen was just a teen when his family decided to flee Vietnam.
In June, 1983, Nguyen and 19 relatives piled into a small fishing boat and pushed off into the night, hoping to make it into the shipping lanes where they would be rescued and taken to a refugee camp for resettlement.
His family was one of the lucky ones. Despite rough seas their fishing boat stayed afloat and it was even boarded by pirates.
"We were lucky in a way," Nguyen remembers, "They didn't do terrible things that we heard in other stories."
After seven days at sea they were picked up by a Japanese ship and taken to a refugee camp in Japan.
After a year Nguyen and his family were allowed to immigrate to Canada. They settled in Toronto in 1984.
Nguyen learned English, got an undergraduate degree and then entered the seminary in 1993, at the age of 27. He spent 12 years as a parish priest.
Last year Pope Benedict XVI announced Nguyen would be elevated to the rank of bishop — not only the youngest bishop ever in Canada, but also the first bishop of Asian ancestry.
Nguyen will be an auxiliary bishop with responsibilities for eastern Toronto and the growing Durham region. But he will also be looked to for leadership from Canada's Vietnamese community, as well as many other Asian, African and Latin immigrants who are changing the demographic of the Catholic church.
For Nguyen the enormity of what is happening became clear on Monday evening when his family began arriving from Vietnam to watch the ceremony at St. Michael's Cathedral. It will be the first time in 30 years the family has been together.
"The first time I thought of this, actually I cried," he said. "We were talking about getting them here for my ordination - just the thought of it made me cry."
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