BEAUMONT, Texas — The Catholic Diocese of Beaumont is asking for prayers as they mourn the loss of Priest Duc Duong. Father Duong was 63 years.
Father Duong died Saturday, Nov. 6 from COVID-19 complications at the CHRISTUS St. Elizabeth hospital in Beaumont. Duong had been in the hospital since the end of August.
Friends and family of Father Duong said he was a loved man and a man who loved others. Loved ones said his fun and gentle personality will never be forgotten.
“He’s a people person," Father Kahn Ho, pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Mount Belvieu, said. "He loved relationships."
Father Ho said Father Duong’s purpose was to follow the lord and to look for God’s people. Friends of the priest said he loved being around people and felt the need to bring them to God.
“He fishes alot, and he told people he is a fisher of men,” Father Ho said. “He liked to sing karaoke, and he loved for people to call him the Duke, because, you know, the name sounds like Duc, his name.”
Father Duong was born into a large family in Vietnam in 1958 and attended seminary there from 1971 to 1979, before escaping the country by boat. Father Duong lived in refugee camps in Hong Kong and the Philippines.
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Father Ho helped Father Duong and five other seminarians come to the United States in 1993.
“His dream was cut off by the communist government in Vietnam,” Father Ho said. “They confiscated our seminary, so we had to get out and return to our family.”
After escaping Vietnam, Father Duong served the catholic church in North Carolina and Chicago before making his way to Southeast Texas.
Father Duong was ordained in June of 2000 and served as parochial vicar of Infant Jesus in Lumberton and St. Mark the Evangelist in Silsbee. The priest served the Diocese of Beaumont for 21 years but has been involved in the ministry for more than five decades.
Members of the diocese said Father Duong’s impact was felt across the world.
"He loved to make friends," Father Ho said. "He was a very joyful person, smiling, singing, easy to get along."
Funeral arrangements have been made for Father Duong. All services will be held at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica, located at 700 Jefferson St. in Beaumont. The reception of body will be held on Thursday, Nov. 11 at 2 p.m. A sharing of memories is set for 4 p.m. on Thursday. It will be followed by a wake service at 5 p.m.
The funeral will be held on Friday, Nov. 12 at 10 a.m. There will be a meal after the funeral. Burial will follow at Greenlawn in Groves.