About Our Lady Queen of Martyrs · Pensacola, Florida
Our Lady Queen of Martyrs is a small Vietnamese-language Catholic parish serving the Vietnamese-American Catholic community of Pensacola, Florida, within the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. The parish was founded in 1975 and formally established in 1989, growing out of the Vietnamese refugee community that arrived in Pensacola after the Fall of Saigon. It is pastored by a priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (CRM, the Redemptorists) and serves approximately 140 families, with all Masses celebrated in Vietnamese. The parish shares its campus with adjacent St. Thomas More, having been built from the converted classrooms of the former St. Thomas More Catholic School.
- Established
- 1989
- Patron
- Our Lady, Queen of Martyrs
- Rector
- Reverend Leo Huyen Dinh Vu, CRM
- Diocese
- Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee
Why belong here
Our Lady Queen of Martyrs is the spiritual home of Pensacola's Vietnamese Catholic community — a small, family-centered parish of about 140 families where every Mass is celebrated in Vietnamese. The parish preserves Vietnamese Catholic tradition, hymnody, and culture for older refugees who came to the Gulf Coast after 1975 and for their U.S.-born descendants, while offering the fullness of the Roman Rite through the sacraments and devotions of the Catholic Church. Anyone — Vietnamese-speaking or not — is warmly welcomed to attend and worship alongside this tight-knit community.
Mass times at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- 30 minutes prior to weekend Masses
- By appointment
Parish Identity
Our Lady Queen of Martyrs is a Vietnamese-language Roman Catholic parish in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, located in the Warrington neighborhood of west Pensacola at 3295 Olde Barrancas Avenue. The parish shares its campus with adjacent St. Thomas More Catholic Church and serves approximately 140 registered families, the great majority of whom are Vietnamese-American descendants of refugees who came to the Gulf Coast after 1975.
- Parish name: Our Lady Queen of Martyrs
- Diocese: Pensacola-Tallahassee
- Deanery: Western Deanery
- Pastor: Rev. Leo Huyen Dinh Vu, CRM
History of the Parish
The community that would become Our Lady Queen of Martyrs was born in 1975 out of the Vietnamese Catholic refugee community that settled in Pensacola after the Fall of Saigon. For its first years the community worshipped in members' homes; in the early 1980s the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee granted them the old St. Thomas More Catholic School, which was gutted and renovated into the present church. The parish was formally founded in 1989 and has served as the cultural and spiritual anchor for Pensacola's Vietnamese Catholics ever since.
- 1975: Vietnamese Catholic refugees begin gathering for Mass in members' homes in Pensacola.
- Early 1980s: Diocese grants the old St. Thomas More school property; classrooms converted into a church building.
- 1989: Parish formally founded (sacramental records date to 1975).
- 2009: Death of longtime pastor Father Augustine Nguyen Thanh Hue.
- July 2019: Rev. Leo Huyen Dinh Vu, CRM, appointed Administrator.
Faith & Vietnamese Catholic Tradition
The parish is a guardian of Vietnamese Catholic tradition on the Gulf Coast. Hymns are sung in Vietnamese, the Mass is celebrated entirely in Vietnamese, and many women wear the áo dài — the long, colorful traditional tunic — to Sunday worship. A Saturday Vietnamese language class helps U.S.-born children of the parish stay connected to the language and heritage of their parents and grandparents.
- Hymns and prayers in Vietnamese
- Traditional áo dài at Sunday Mass
- Saturday Vietnamese language classes for youth
Clergy & Staff
The parish is administered by Reverend Leo Huyen Dinh Vu, a priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists, CRM), ordained on April 4, 1994, and appointed Administrator in July 2019. Parishioners remember especially the founding pastor, Father Augustine Nguyen Thanh Hue, who led the community from its earliest days until his death in 2009. Kathy Tran serves as the parish secretary.
- Rev. Leo Huyen Dinh Vu, CRM — Administrator
- Father Augustine Nguyen Thanh Hue — founding pastor (d. 2009)
- Kathy Tran — Secretary
Building & Renovation
The church and its offices and halls are all converted classrooms of the former St. Thomas More Catholic School. The buildings have needed ongoing repairs over the decades, and in 2018 the parish received diocesan approval to raise roughly $600,000 for a complete renovation. The church will keep its ornate exterior, including the fountain and statue of the Virgin Mary, the Queen of Martyrs.
- Buildings repurposed from former St. Thomas More Catholic School
- Ornate exterior preserved
- Fountain and statue of the Virgin Mary, Queen of Martyrs
- Diocesan-approved renovation campaign (~ $600,000)
Visit & Contact
Our Lady Queen of Martyrs welcomes visitors and parishioners at 3295 Olde Barrancas Avenue in the Warrington neighborhood of Pensacola, Florida. The parish office can be reached by phone during office hours; messages and appointment requests for Reconciliation outside the scheduled times are welcomed.
- Address: 3295 Olde Barrancas Ave., Pensacola, FL 32507
- Phone: (850) 607-7470
- Website: http://qom.ptdiocese.org/
- Parish: ~140 registered families
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Augustine Nguyen Thanh Huefounding through 2009
Founded and led the parish from its early years until his death in 2009.
- Reverend Leo Huyen Dinh Vu, CRMappointed July 2019 as Administrator (continuing)
Member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists). Ordained April 4, 1994.