Abbey Celebrates Profession of Vows

The Benedictine monks of St. Gregory’s Abbey welcomed a new member to their community on September 14, 2021, the Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross.  Brother John Michael (Ford) Nguyen, O.S.B., made his profession of temporary vows as a monk of St. Gregory’s Abbey.  Rt. Rev. Lawrence Stasyszen, O.S.B., Abbot of St. Gregory’s, stated: “We as a community are grateful to God for leading Br. John Michael to this important day in his life, in the life of our monastery and in the lives of those whom we serve.  We are enriched by Br. John Michael’s sincere desire to become more closely united to Jesus Christ and the Church.  We also are enriched by the great Vietnamese heritage of faith and culture that he brings to the monastery.”

Br. John Michael was born in Biên Hòa, Vietnam, and immigrated to the United States with his parents when he was five years old.  He is the son of Hao Nguyen and Ngan Le. His family settled in Oklahoma City and became members of St. Andrew Dung-Lac Catholic Church.  He says that his parents named him “Ford” because it “sounded very American.”  After high school, Ford completed a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of Oklahoma.

At the recommendation of his pastor, Fr. Gregory Nguyen, Ford attended a “Come and See Weekend” at St. Gregory’s Abbey in 2019.  During the visit he discovered at the Abbey something that resonated with what he was seeking in life.  Eventually he applied for admission and entered the novitiate on September 13, 2020.  During the year-long novitiate he experienced the life first-hand and participated in courses in the teachings of the Church, Sacred Scripture, liturgy, spirituality, human development, the Rule of St. Benedict and the history of the Abbey.