Pope Francis has recently announced the appointment as the fourth Bishop of Parramatta, the Most Reverend Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv, who has been until now an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Melbourne.
President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Denis Hart, welcomed the appointment and praised Bishop Long for his experience.
“After distinguished leadership in the Conventual Franciscans, Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen has been Auxiliary Bishop in Melbourne since 2011, working as a gifted and compassionate pastor, Episcopal Vicar and Chair of the Victorian Catholic Education Commission.
“We joyfully welcome his appointment as Bishop of Parramatta, knowing that his Christ- like gifts and simplicity will serve the people of his new diocese so well.”
Following the announcement, Bishop long said he felt a sense of responsibility and honour at his appointment to the Diocese of Parramatta.
“I accepted the appointment by Pope Francis with humility,” Bishop Long said.
“This appointment comes with great care for the people of Parramatta and for the Church locally. My immediate priority is to get to know the clergy and the people across the diocese.
“Coming to Australia by boat as a refugee from Vietnam, I found myself a newcomer in Melbourne. I now consider myself a newcomer to the Diocese of Parramatta. I know I’ll be enriched by the many cultures that make up the great Western Sydney,” he added.
Born on 3 December 1961 in Gia-Kiem, Vietnam, Bishop Long is the fourth in a family of five boys and two girls. In 1972, he joined the diocesan minor seminary which was later disbanded by the Communist government. In 1980, he left Vietnam to begin a new life in Australia. In 1983, Bishop Long became a Conventual Franciscan friar.
Studying for the priesthood in Melbourne, Bishop Long was ordained on 30 December 1989. He was elected Superior of Conventual Franciscans in Australia in 2005 and appointed as Assistant General of the same Order and transferred to Rome in 2008.
Bishop Long was appointed as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Melbourne on 20 May 2011. A date for Bishop Long’s liturgical reception as the Fourth Bishop of Parramatta will be advised soon.
The Diocese of Parramatta has been vacant since the transfer on 18 September 2014 of Bishop Anthony Fisher OP to the Archdiocese of Sydney.