Paul Duy Duc Cao, 27

First assignment: St. William
Education: Elementary and high school in Vietnam, St. Joseph College Seminary
Parents: Son Ho and Xuan Cao
First Mass: 5 p.m. May 19 at St. Thomas of Canterbury

When Paul Duy Duc Cao was about 10 years old, he served as altar boy in the town of Vung Tau in Vietnam. He loved serving Mass so much that he memorized it. Then he would play at being a priest, once doing an entire nuptial Mass for two friends pretending to get married. “One lady who saw me said perhaps I should be a priest,” he said, marking the beginning of his vocation journey.

His family, especially an aunt who was a nun, encouraged him, he said, and he began studying at St. Joseph College Seminary shortly after he, his parents and two of his sisters joined his three older brothers in Chicago in 1992.

“My role is to be with the elderly and to work with the school,” said Cao, the youngest of seven children. “I love to be with people.”

Working with the children will give him the opportunity to encourage youngsters to think about whether they have a vocation to the priesthood or religious life, he said.

“In Vietnam, the pastors, they ask directly if there’s someone who is interested in the priesthood,” he said.

Other ordinations:
Jo-Andre Beltran
Paul Duy Duc Cao
Mark Greschel
Miguel Angel Martinez Figueroa
Michael J. Novick
Edward J. Pelrine
Kombo Livingstone Peshu
Robert William Schultz Jr.
Paul Charles Stein
Walter Antonio Yepes Galvis