Parish Priest

Fr. Joseph Truong Nguyen was born in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly and still commonly known as Saigon, in Vietnam. He grew up in Saigon until 1983, when his whole family came to Australia as refugees. He joined the Conventual Franciscan Friars in 1989 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1996. He served in different capacities in the Franciscan Order. He was Parochial Vicar from 2005-2008 at St. Mark’s Dingley Village. His latest assignment is the Parish Priest in the Springvale Parish of St. Joseph’s Springvale and St. Mark’s Dingley Village. This is Fr. Joseph’s fifth year in this ministry.

Fr. Joseph finds it challenging and yet an enriching ministry. He hopes, with the support of Parish Leadership Teams and parishioners, the parish will continue to grow in faith, joy and compassion in giving witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we proclaim.

Assistant Priest

Being inspired by the examples of many nuns and a few priests within his extended family, at the age of 18, after completing a Diploma in Agriculture, Fr. John Vayalilkarottu (born 1970) joined the Conventual Franciscans located at Nirmalaram Franciscan Ashram, Chotty, Kerala, South India. He pursued his Philosophical and Theological studies at St. Joseph’s Pontifical Institute, Alwaye, Kerala. His Priestly Ordination was conducted on 28 December 1997.

From 1994-2001, Fr. John was the National Director of the Militia Immaculata (M.I.), a Marian Movement founded by St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe. He also served the Franciscan Order and the Church as Vice Rector of Pre-Novices (1998-1999), Guardian of Padua Franciscan Ashram and Administrator of St. Anthony’s Shrine, Puthenchira East (1999-2002) and Guardian and Parish Priest at St. Francis of Assisi Church and Franciscan Asharam, Nattakkal (2002-2006).

On 29 October 2006, he was sent to Australia to minister to the Franciscan Order and the Church here. Together with his pastoral ministry, Fr. John completed his Master of Philosophy (MPhil.) in psychology of religion and spirituality, specialising in Marian spirituality. In 2018, he was awarded the Fellow of the International Institute of Organizational Psychological Medicine (FIIOPM, UK). Currently, he is working as Assistant Parish Priest at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Springvale, Victoria, as well as undertaking part-time PhD study in Marian spirituality. His interests are: watching documentaries on nature, understanding more about the interconnection between Marian spirituality and wellbeing, and observing and learning from the simple faith of the people of God. He also enjoys academic pursuits while actively involved in pastoral ministry.

Assistant Priest