In Memoriam: Father Gan Minh Nguyen C.Ss.R

April 16, 2024

Father Gan Minh Nguyen C.Ss.R. passed away on April 14, 2024 at the rectory of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Redemptorist Church in Kansas City, Missouri.

A joyful and energetic Redemptorist missionary, Father Nguyen sprinkled conversations with humor and never met a stranger, welcoming one and all with an inclusive, loving spirit.

The son of Nho Thi Nguyen and Ui Van Nguyen, Father Nguyen was born on August 7, 1964 in Vietnam. He grew up in a large family of 14 children and was 11 years-old when his family fled Vietnam and immigrated to the United States. They settled in Biloxi, Mississippi, where Father Nguyen became involved in the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement (VEYM) in grade school.

He completed high school and earned a degree in electronic engineering technology, but the VEYM had nourished his vocation call. He remained involved in that organization and was devoted to youth ministry for his entire life.
Father Nguyen began Redemptorist formation with the Extra Patriam Vice Province in California, but eventually transferred to the former Vice Province of New Orleans. He professed first vows on July 31, 1993 and perpetual vows on Sept. 7, 1997.

During his years in formation, he gained practical experience serving in parish and youth ministry at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Chicago, Illinois and St. Gerard Majella Church in Baton Rouge. He was ordained to the priesthood on February 14, 1998 in Baton Rouge, and immediately joined the staff as a parish priest.
A year later he was appointed at Holy Ghost Parish in Houston, where he held additional responsibilities as community bursar.

Father Nguyen joined the Redemptorist Mission Team at St. Michael’s in Chicago in 2008. He enjoyed traveling across the country to preach parish missions, always allowing time to personally visit family members and friends living throughout the United States. He was appointed at Liguori Mission House in Liguori, Missouri in 2010. Although he remained attached to the community, he served five of the next six years as a military chaplain at White Sands Missile Range in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Father Nguyen returned to Houston in 2016 as parochial vicar of Holy Ghost Church. Three years later, he was appointed local superior of the St. Clement Redemptorist Mission Community in Liguori.
He is remembered for welcoming one and all to St. Clement and hosting large gatherings at every opportunity. He instituted an All Souls Day Mass at the Redemptorist Cemetery, which has become an important annual tradition for the local community.

Father Nguyen was appointed associate pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Redemptorist Parish in Kansas City in 2023. He quickly became involved in the community and served the parish until his unexpected death. He recently summed up his life as, “I’m a fisherman by trade; an electronic engineer by profession; and a Redemptorist priest by choice.”
Funeral arrangements are as follows:

Friday, April 26, 2024
Visitation: 6:00-7:30 p.m. followed by Memorial Mass: 7:30 p.m.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church 3333 Broadway Blvd.
Kansas City, MO 64111-2401

Saturday, April 27, 2024
Mass of the Resurrection (In Vietnamese), 12 p.m.
Church of the Holy Martyrs ,4101 E 105th Terrace Kansas City, MO 64137

Monday, April 29, 2024
Wake: 7 p.m.,
St. Clement Chapel, Liguori, Missouri.

Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Mass: 10 a.m.
St. Clement Chapel, Liguori, Missouri, followed by burial at the Redemptorist Cemetery in Liguori, Missouri.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace.