Father Joseph Tran

Obituary of Reverend Joseph Thuan Tran.
Born on April -20-1956, into a family of 6 siblings in Son Tra, Danang, Viet Nam, Joseph inherited a deep Catholic faith and strong devotion from his parents & grandparents. In 1969, at the age of 13, he was admitted to study in the Minor Seminary of Saint Joseph in the Diocese of Phu Cuong, Binh Duong Province, Viet Nam.
Shortly after the downfall of the South Vietnam regime in 1975, all forms of religious study or training were either restrained or stopped completely: Priests & seminarians were driven out of the institution. The seminary buildings were converted to "Communist Party" training compound under the ruse of "voluntary offer" from the diocesan authority. As a consequence, he had to come back home, resorting to farm work to earn his living in a countryside near Saigon. From that farm, he was arrested & incarcerated in "Chi Hoa" prison for no reason at all. About 2 years later, since they could not find any reason to indict and keep him in prison, he was released
In 1986, realizing that he could not stay in Viet Nam to continue with his vocation, he fled the country by boat, arriving in Pulau Bidong Malaysia, from there, he applied for refugee resettlement program and was admitted to the USA in 1987.
A few months after arriving in New York, he applied and was accepted to study in St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, NY. Life in the seminary for a new arrival with limited language skill, different culture, life style, perspective and very little financial support finally took toll on his ability to focus. He asked for a break from the study. During that time, he worked odd jobs while going to a trade school for HVAC technician. He mainlyfree lanced as handy handyman, fixing anything that breaks in the house, be it a broken faucet, circuit breaker, light switch or replacing bath tub, toilet bowl often working until very late at night. He was once robbed and punched in the face and lost a front tooth while riding on the subway home late at night as a result.
Despite going through a tough stretch of life, he still steadfastly kept his ultimate goal in sight: To become a priest
With prayerful help and support of many people in the Vietnamese Community and in the Archdiocese of New York, he was able to return to Saint Joseph's Seminary a few years later - this time for good. Even though there still were a few bumps here and there on the road to priesthood, with the will, power, and grace from the Almighty God, he finally made it and was ordained to the priesthood by His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan on May 15, 2005 in Saint Patrick's Cathedral, New York City.
He then was sent forth to serve in the parish of St. Teresa of the Infant Jesus in Staten Island, NY.
In 2009, with the agreement between Archdioceses of New York and Hartford CT, he moved to Connecticut to serve as full-time chaplain at St. Lawrence O'Toole Church for the Vietnamese Catholic Community of St. Andrew Dung Lac.
Then in 2011 he was assigned to be the chaplain for the Daughters of Mary of the Immaculate Conception, serving at Saint Lucian's residence, a Senior Residence in New Britain, CT.
In July 2023 he returned to the Archdiocese of New York, assigned to be the chaplain of Vassar Brothers Medical Center, Poughkeepsie NY, where he was admitted in ICU on October 25, 2025 due to a heart attack.
At 11:00 pm on October 30, 2025, Fr. Joseph Thuan Tran passed peacefully under professional and dedicated care of the Vassar Hospital medical staff.
He is survived by 3 siblings: Younger sister: Thuy T. Tran - with husband, children & grandchildren, currently in Viet Nam; Younger
brother: Thomas The Tran – with wife and children, currently living in Houston, TX, USA; Younger brother: Thao The Tran – with wife and children, currently in Victoria, Australia.