***MEDIA ADVISORY***
BISHOP ROBERT BRENNAN TO ORDAIN FOUR MEN TO THE PRIESTHOOD INCLUDING FIRST AMERICAN-BORN VIETNAMESE PRIEST IN THE DIOCESE
The Most Reverend Robert Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn, will ordain four men as priests of the Diocese of Brooklyn during a Mass of Ordination, on Saturday, June 1, 2024, at 11:00 a.m., at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, located at 856 Pacific Street in the Prospect Heights section of Brooklyn. The four ordinands are:
Deacon Caetano Moura de Oliveira
Caetano Moura de Oliveira, 31, was born in the city of Jundiaí, about 60 miles from São Paulo, Brazil. He was raised in a devout Catholic family, who would pray as a family on Sundays at home before attending Mass. However, he also describes his youth as full of rock and roll concerts and mosh pits. In 2012 on a youth pilgrimage in Brasilia, Brazil, Deacon de Oliveira heard the call of Jesus Christ to follow Him and become a priest.
Deacon de Oliveira attended the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey and completed his studies at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Deacon Luis Marquez
Luis Marquez, 38, was born in Medellin, Colombia, and immigrated with his family to the United States in 2002, settling in New Jersey. Luis would go on to earn a degree in foreign languages and became a Spanish teacher in Englewood, New Jersey, prior to answering the call to the priesthood. His father, also named Luis, had considered the priesthood as a young man, and strongly encouraged him to become a priest. He attended Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston, Massachusetts. He is excited to serve in the Diocese of Brooklyn where he will be surrounded by different cultures, languages, and communities.
Deacon Randy Thanh Nguyen
Randy Thanh Nguyen, 38, was born in Minnesota to Vietnamese parents, who brought their family to Elmhurst, Queens. Deacon Randy made his sacraments of first Holy Communion and Confirmation at his home parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Astoria, Queens. Deacon Nguyen is a graduate of Hunter College and speaks three languages: Vietnamese, Spanish and English. He completed his theological studies at St. Vincent’s Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Deacon Randy pursued a medical degree for a short time prior to pursuing his vocation to the priesthood.
Deacon Tobechkwu Jude Offiah
Tobechkwu Jude Offiah, 37, was born in Lagos, the former capital city of Nigeria. Faith was always important in his family, and as an incentive to attend Mass, his mom always treated him and his siblings to ice cream after Mass. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Nigeria. Soon after, he first entered the seminary in the Diocese of Akwa in 2011 but would later follow his family to the United States in 2016. In 2019, Deacon Offiah entered St. Joseph’s Seminary and College in New York, and he became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2022.
The Ordination Mass will be broadcast live on NET-TV, the cable channel of the Diocese of Brooklyn. NET-TV can be found on Spectrum channel 97; Optimum channel 30; and on FiOS Channel 548. The Mass will also be live-streamed at netny.tv/watch-now.
Members of the media are welcome and asked to confirm their attendance.
The attached photos of the four ordinands are courtesy of the Diocese of Brooklyn.
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Deacon Caetano Moura de Oliveira
Deacon Luis Marquez
Deacon Randy Thanh Nguyen
Deacon Tobechkwu Jude Offiah
