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Parish News
Those who have registered to attend Marian Days with the parish are kindly asked to attend an informational meeting about the trip on Sunday, July 26, 2026, at 2:00 PM in Meeting Room 1.
Please arrive on time. Thank you.
Please remember the parish during the summer months. The parish continues to remember and pray for you.
The parish also needs the offerings, contributions, and support of all its members in order to have sufficient funds for its expenses. Please continue to be generous with the parish.
May God reward you abundantly for your generous sacrifices.
The Sisters, teachers, classroom supervisors, and members of the School Administration are respectfully invited to attend the Training and Spiritual Retreat sessions at the parish meeting room according to the following schedule:
Vietnamese Language Teacher Training
Time: 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
All Vietnamese Language teachers are kindly asked to attend.
Spiritual Retreat for Teachers, the School Administration, and Classroom Supervisors
Time: 8:30 AM to 2:00 PM
These are very important training sessions. All teachers, members of the School Administration, and classroom supervisors are required to attend in order to fully understand the direction, expectations, and procedures for the upcoming school year.
For the benefit of our students, please arrange your schedule so that you can attend. Your participation will help ensure that the opening of the new school year runs smoothly.
Please mark these dates on your calendar.
Thank you sincerely.
Thanks to the generosity and sacrifices of many people, the parish food booth has generated income to help the parish cover its expenses throughout the year.
Anyone who can spare some time to help at the food booth is kindly asked to contact:
Ms. Trần Hiền
Phone: (407) 733-0918
The parish food booth is in great need of additional volunteers, especially men, to help with serving and other tasks.
Thank you very much for your support.
We sincerely thank all parishioners and friends of our parish for your generous contributions to the Bishop of the Diocese of Orlando through the Our Catholic Appeal fund. So far, 256 members and supporters, representing 23.9%, have pledged $117,375. Our parish goal is $130,000 in support of the diocese. If each family makes an effort to pledge, we will be able to reach this goal.
If you have not yet had the opportunity to help the Bishop in the pastoral work of the Diocese, please take an envelope from the table at the front of the church to make your contribution. You may also contribute online by visiting: www.OurCatholicAppeal.org.
Thank you, and may God reward you abundantly for your generosity and support of the Church.
The Religious Education and Vietnamese Language Program is in need of catechists and teachers for the 2026–2027 school year. At this time, we are in great need of teachers to help with instruction. We are also in need of Vietnamese language teachers.
In addition, we need more volunteers to help with hall monitoring in order to maintain the safety and security of our students.
Anyone who is able to help teach or assist is kindly asked to contact Ms. Duong Phuong Lily at (407) 756-4689.
Thank you very much.
Vatican News
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Welcome
Welcome to St. Philip Phan Văn Minh Catholic Church, a Vietnamese Catholic parish serving the faithful in the Orlando, Florida area.
Our parish is a spiritual home where families, friends, and visitors come together to celebrate the Eucharist, receive the sacraments, grow in faith, and support one another in Christian love. Rooted in the Catholic faith and enriched by Vietnamese traditions, our community seeks to help every person feel welcomed, connected, and encouraged on their journey with God.
Through Mass, prayer, faith formation, parish activities, livestreams, bulletins, homilies, and community updates, St. Philip Phan Văn Minh Catholic Church invites all parishioners and visitors to take part in the life of the Church.
Whether you are a longtime parishioner, a new family, or someone visiting for the first time, we are grateful you are here and warmly welcome you to our parish family.
Parish History
The waves of migration brought many Vietnamese people to settle in Orlando, in the warm sunshine of the state of Florida. Along with the desire to build a stable life, caring for their spiritual life became an important concern for many newcomers. There were churches and priests, but because of language barriers, many Vietnamese Catholics faced limitations in hearing and understanding the Word of God. They longed for a familiar taste of home.
In the early years, from 1975 to 1983, the first Vietnamese Catholics in Orlando gathered together as a small community of about 40 families. Father Ignatius Nguyễn Ngọc Tước, who was serving in Tampa at the time, came to celebrate Mass for them once a month at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, located at 5900 Oleander Drive, Orlando, Florida 32807. Later, Father Joseph Trần Anh Dũng, who was ordained to the priesthood at the end of May 1983, continued Father Tước’s work.
Around the end of 1983, Father Dũng brought his flock to St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church, located at 861 Maitland Avenue, Altamonte Springs, Florida 32701, where he was serving as parochial vicar. Mass continued to be celebrated once a month. In 1987, Father Bartholomew Phạm Ân Sử, commonly known as Father Trọng Ân, a priest of the Congregation of the Mother Coredemptrix, came to serve the community. At that time, the Vietnamese Catholic community had about 100 families and continued to gather for Mass once a month. During this period, the community was known as the Vietnamese Martyrs Catholic Community.
In April 1987, the wandering flock followed Father Ân to St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, located at 4001 Edgewater Drive, Orlando, Florida 32804. At the end of March 1989, Father Ân was called back to his religious congregation. From time to time, Father Tước returned to celebrate Mass for his former flock. On June 3, Deacon Joseph Nguyễn Thanh Châu was ordained and assigned to St. Charles for pastoral training. Vietnamese Mass was celebrated once a month by Father Edward Pawlack, with Deacon Châu preaching in Vietnamese. On December 2, 1989, “Deacon Châu” was ordained to the priesthood and appointed parochial vicar of St. Charles Borromeo, while also caring for the Vietnamese Catholic community under the American parish.
Beginning in early 1991, Mass for the Vietnamese community was celebrated weekly. In June 1996, Father Joseph Bùi Văn Dũng, a priest of the Diocese of Orlando, was transferred to St. Charles as parochial vicar, replacing Father Châu, and became the pastoral administrator of the Vietnamese community. In August 2003, Father Châu was assigned once again to replace Father Dũng and continued serving the community.
Since 1975, the St. Joseph Vietnamese Catholic Community in Polk County had also been established. This community celebrated Mass once a month at Santa Fe High School and later moved to St. Joseph Catholic Church in Winter Haven. Today, the community continues to gather regularly for faith-enrichment activities, Eucharistic Adoration on the first week of the month, and Marian devotions hosted by families. Currently, the community has about 50 families.
In 2003, after Father Joseph Bùi Văn Dũng was transferred to Indialantic as parochial vicar of Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, he also helped establish a new Vietnamese Catholic community under the patronage of St. Andrew Dũng Lạc. Today, this community has about 50 families and continues to gather regularly for monthly Masses and major feast days at Ascension Catholic Church in Melbourne, Florida.
On November 25, 2004, during the Thanksgiving Day Mass, which also coincided with the feast of the Vietnamese Martyrs, Bishop Thomas G. Wenski, the newly appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Orlando who had assumed office just over ten days earlier, issued a decree establishing a new parish under the name St. Philip Phan Văn Minh Catholic Church. He appointed Father Joseph Nguyễn Thanh Châu as the founding pastor of the parish.
On Sunday, September 23, 2007, the Vietnamese parish celebrated its final Mass at St. Charles Borromeo, bringing to an end 20 years of relying on the hospitality of another parish during its years away from home. With deep gratitude, the Vietnamese community bid farewell to the priests and parishioners of St. Charles Borromeo.
On Saturday, September 29, 2007, the Vietnamese parish celebrated its first Mass in its very own church, the first Vietnamese Catholic church in Orlando, located at 15 W. Par Street.
On Saturday, November 3, 2007, with the participation of more than 1,000 faithful, deacons, religious brothers and sisters, representatives of other faith communities, and 28 priests from neighboring parishes, Bishop Thomas G. Wenski, Bishop of the Diocese of Orlando, solemnly celebrated the Mass of Dedication for the church.
From that day forward, a new address was added to the history of the Vietnamese Catholic community: a church of their own, a sacred place where the faithful could gather, pray, worship, and hear the prayers of the Church spoken in the beloved voice of their homeland.
Pastors
Pastor
Joseph Nguyễn Thanh Châu
Cha Phó Xứ
Lm. Ansgar Phạm Tĩnh, SDD
Deacon
Đaminh Đặng Văn Nước