July 15, 2025
Few people have come to St. John’s University from as great a distance as University Chaplain Rev. Tri M. Duong, C.M. ’00C. Born in Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, in war-ravaged Vietnam, he traveled 9,000 miles to New York City in 1991 and later earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy while establishing a new home for himself on the Queens, NY, campus.
“I was part of a small spiritual discernment group in Vietnam, where religion was not openly practiced,” Fr. Duong recalled. “I started to think that perhaps God was calling me. I looked at several different communities—the Franciscans and the Congregation of Holy Cross—but I wanted to work with young people. That’s why I joined the Vincentian community.”
Fr. Tri Duong’s Journey from Vietnam to St. John’s
Known affectionately across campus as “Fr. Tri” (pronounced “tree”), Fr. Duong was born to parents who supported United States-backed South Vietnam in the country’s two-decade war. After the fall of South Vietnam to the communist North in 1975, his father, employed by a US government agency, was imprisoned.
Fr. Tri’s mother, a devout Catholic, attended Mass daily at five a.m. Eventually, Fr. Duong joined her and was hired as a sacristan at the church. He would rise at about three a.m., walk more than half an hour to the church, and prepare the altar for Mass at five.
Eventually, Fr. Duong’s family and others who had worked for the US were offered a chance to relocate to the United States. He entered the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, NY, where he was directed to St. John’s for undergraduate studies and life as a Vincentian priest.
It was quite a pivot for the newly arrived immigrant who once imagined life as a computer programmer. “I talked to the Director of Formation at the time, Rev. Gerard H. Luttenberger, C.M. ’11HON; he is a member of the Board of Trustees at St. John’s. I asked if I could still study computers. He said yes.”
Instead of writing code, Fr. Duong committed to a life of service with the Vincentian community. He was ordained in 2005. Except for several years assisting at St. Mary’s Church in Greensboro, NC—a Vincentian parish with a large Vietnamese population—he has not left St. John’s. He served eight years in Campus Ministry at the former Staten Island, NY, campus, moving to a position in Queens when the Staten Island campus closed in 2024.
Fr. Duong has lived on the Queens campus since returning from Greensboro. He commuted daily to and from Staten Island, putting miles on his car and braving New York City traffic. “People have told me they could not do it for more than a day,” Fr. Duong joked. “I would do it six, sometimes seven, days a week.”
As University Chaplain, Fr. Duong is responsible for the emotional, spiritual, and pastoral care of the St. John’s community, including students, alumni, faculty, administrators, and staff. At Staten Island, he was a presence at nearly all service projects and helped to manage the Catholic Scholars program. He also sat on the Interfaith Ministry—as he does now in Queens—working to ensure that all community members feel welcome at St. John’s regardless of their personal religious beliefs.
When he is not celebrating Mass, Fr. Duong keeps the door to his office at St. Thomas More Church open to all.
“All faiths teach how to be a good citizen in the world,” Fr. Duong said. “That is what they all have in common. We must find that mutual understanding, even as we explore different things. If we cannot come together in that basic understanding, we cannot come together at all.”
Fr. Tri Duong’s Commitment to the Vincentian Life and St. John’s
Fr. Duong is known for his humble commitment to the Vincentian charism and his occasionally unorthodox evangelization methods. While at the Staten Island campus, he organized table tennis tournaments, where students would challenge him at Ping-Pong and on matters of faith.
“Fr. Tri goes above and beyond in his eagerness to build communities on campus,” said Victoria Santangelo ’98C, ’01GEd, ’11G, Associate Vice President of University Ministry. “He believes that getting to know people and allowing people to know him is an important part of his ministry. He wants to be welcoming; he wants people to grow in their faith, and you can see it in everything he does.”
Fr. Duong is celebrating his 20th year as a priest this year. As the Congregation of the Mission recognizes its 400th anniversary, Fr. Duong says its founding charism is as relevant as ever.
“How do we walk with the less fortunate, the homeless, and immigrants?” Fr. Duong asked. “That is the challenge for us, as it was for St. Vincent de Paul. How can we treat them all with dignity and respect in 2025? Only with that love and respect can we recognize God’s love in their lives.”