Nguyen will succeed Bishop David Monroe, who is retiring after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.

Born in Vietnam in 1957, the Bishop-elect is the eldest of 10 children. He arrived in Canada through a sponsorship program in the mid-1980s after his studies in philosophy and theology in Vietnam.

Nguyen was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Vancouver on May 30, 1992.

He served in a number of parishes throughout the Archdiocese before being named Director of the Vocations Office in 2010 and Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia in 2013.

Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller has congratulated the Catholic community in Kamloops, saying the diocese is getting a bishop who is an engaging homilist, quick to serve and a strong proponent of priestly and religious vocations.

“His dedication to the priesthood is abundantly apparent,” Miller was cited as saying by Kamploops This Week.

“From opening Vianney House in Vancouver (a home for men discerning a call to the priesthood), to starting a newsletter on the priesthood and religious life, to his launching a vocations career fair, he is truly committed to encouraging vocations to the priesthood,” he said.

An official date for Nguyen’s ordination and installation in Kamloops has yet to be announced.

According to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops 2016 Directory, the Diocese of Kamloops has 67 parishes and missions, with a Catholic population of 51,435 served by 16 diocesan priests, four priests who are members of institutes of consecrated life, two permanent deacons and 10 Sisters and Brothers who are members of religious institutes.

– with other agencies