Reverend John T. Nguyen was born in Saigon (now known as Ho Chi Minh City), South Vietnam. At the age of 15, he and his family escaped Vietnam in 1988 and traveled to Malaysia. They stayed at a refugee camp for nearly a year and then transferred to the Philippines where they remained for six months. In September 1989, they flew from the Philippines to the United States and lived in Germantown, in Montgomery County, Maryland for over three months. After that, he and his father moved to California and lived with his cousin in Orange County for a year.
In 1990, after the Nguyen family was reunited, they moved to Long Beach and established their lives there. After graduation from Jordan High School in 1993, he moved back to Germantown to work for his uncle. Later, he helped his older sister and brother-in-law manage their beauty salon. A few years later, he purchased one of their salons and ran it until he decided to enter the seminary.
He first entered Theological College Seminary in Washington, D.C. in 1999, where he studied for a year before transferring to Scranton University to finish his B.S. degree in philosophy. After graduation from Scranton University in 2003, the Archdiocese of Washington sent him back to Theological College Seminary, where he completed his Master’s Degree in Theology.
On May 26, 2007, Fr. John was ordained to the priesthood and assigned to St. Peter’s parish in Olney, Maryland, where he served for 3 years. From there, he was assigned to St. Jude parish in Rockville, Maryland, where he spent four years. In July 2014, Fr. John was assigned as Administrator to Our Lady’s Church for a year, after which time Cardinal Donald Wuerl named Fr. John as pastor of Our Lady’s Church. His installation as Pastor was held on August 16, 2015, coinciding with the celebration of the parish’s 250th anniversary.