About St. Joseph Vietnamese Parish · Tampa, Florida
St. Joseph Vietnamese Parish (Giáo Xứ Việt Nam Thánh Giuse) is a Vietnamese-American Catholic community in Tampa, Florida, part of the Diocese of Saint Petersburg. It was established in 2021 when Bishop Gregory Parkes elevated the long-standing St. Joseph Vietnamese Mission (founded 1991) to full parish status, with Father Chien X. Dinh, S.V.D. installed as its first pastor. The community traces its roots to 1976, when a small group of Vietnamese Catholics in Tampa invited a priest from the post-1975 wave of Vietnamese war refugees to celebrate Mass and minister the sacraments. Today the parish celebrates Mass in Vietnamese and English (bilingual Sundays), runs a robust Faith Formation program (catechism, Eucharistic Youth, and Vietnamese language classes), and is served by a priest of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD).
- Established
- 1991 (as Mission); 2021 (as Parish)
- Patron
- St. Joseph (Thánh Giuse)
- Rector
- Rev. Chien X. Dinh, S.V.D. (Fr. Gioan Baotixita Đinh Xuân Chiến)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Saint Petersburg
Why belong here
St. Joseph Vietnamese Parish offers the Tampa Bay Vietnamese Catholic community a true home of its own: weekend Masses celebrated in Vietnamese (with a bilingual Sunday schedule), weekday Masses four nights a week, regular First Friday Adoration, and Saturday confessions. A strong three-track Faith Formation program — Catechism (Giáo Lý), Eucharistic Youth (Thiếu Nhi Thánh Thể), and Vietnamese language (Việt Ngữ) — serves more than 100 children each year, while the Đoàn Thanh Niên Công Giáo Phanxicô Assisi keeps young adults rooted in their faith and culture. The community also gathers on Tuesday evenings to pray before a statue of Our Lady of La Vang, Vietnam's beloved Marian apparition, and hosts a Lunar New Year (Tết) festival each year.
Mass times at St. Joseph Vietnamese Parish
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 6:00 PM – 6:50 PM (and by appointment)
Adoration times
- First Friday 5:00 PM – 6:50 PM
History of St. Joseph Vietnamese Parish
The parish's roots go back to 1976, when a small group of Vietnamese Catholics in Tampa — refugees from the fall of South Vietnam — invited Fr. Nguyễn Ngọc Tước (Fr. Ignatius Tuoc) to come hear confessions and celebrate Christmas Mass. Over the next decade he built up small Vietnamese Catholic communities across Florida (Miami, Orlando, Sarasota, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay), celebrating Mass and sacraments for them on a rotating schedule. In 1990, at the bishop's request, the Giáo Đoàn Thánh Giuse moved to Epiphany Parish in Tampa, and in 1991 Fr. Tuoc was named Pastor of Epiphany while continuing to direct the Vietnamese Mission. The Mission grew steadily under his care, adding a Parish Council, catechism classes, Eucharistic Youth, and a Vietnamese-language program. After his retirement, Fr. Peter Nguyễn Văn Tường, S.S.S. led the Mission from 2015 to 2018, and on July 1, 2018 Fr. Chien X. Dinh, S.V.D. was appointed. In 2020, even amid the pandemic, the community purchased a closed church on Hanley Road and renovated it; Bishop Gregory Parkes officially elevated the Mission to a parish on May 9, 2021, installing Fr. Dinh as the first Pastor.
- 1976 — Fr. Nguyễn Ngọc Tước begins Vietnamese sacramental ministry in Tampa, initially from Christ the King.
- 1990 — Giáo Đoàn Thánh Giuse moves to Epiphany Parish at the bishop's invitation.
- 1991 — Mission formally established; Fr. Tuoc named Pastor of Epiphany and director of the Mission.
- 2015–2018 — Fr. Peter Nguyễn Văn Tường, S.S.S. leads the Mission.
- 2018 — Fr. Chien X. Dinh, S.V.D. appointed by Bishop Parkes.
- 2020 — Community purchases and renovates the church at 5601 Hanley Road during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- November 25, 2020 — Mass of Thanksgiving celebrated in the new church.
- May 9, 2021 — Bishop Parkes elevates the Mission to St. Joseph Vietnamese Parish; Fr. Dinh installed as first Pastor.
Parish Clergy and Leadership
The parish is led by Fr. Chien X. Dinh, S.V.D. (Fr. Gioan Baotixita Đinh Xuân Chiến), a member of the Society of the Divine Word, who was appointed by Bishop Gregory Parkes in 2018 and installed as the parish's first Pastor in 2021. The Diocese of Saint Petersburg lists him as the sole priest assigned to the parish. He is supported by an active Parish Pastoral Council (Hội Đồng Mục Vụ) and lay leaders in each of the parish's ministries and organizations.
- Rev. Chien X. Dinh, S.V.D. — Pastor (since 2018; first Pastor of the parish 2021)
- Society of the Divine Word (SVD) — priest's religious congregation
Faith Formation — Ban Giáo Dục
The parish's three-track Faith Formation program (Ban Giáo Dục) is one of the most distinctive features of the community, teaching the Catholic faith, forming young disciples, and preserving Vietnamese language and culture at the same time. The program is open to children age 7 and up, with an annual fee of $150 per student (plus uniforms for TNTT and a separate lunch fee of $180 for the year), and a recommended $180 lunch program running about 30 weeks. The pastor actively encourages families to enroll their children in all three tracks. Registration runs May 1 through August 22, and the school year opens with a special 10:30 AM Mass and commissioning rite for catechists, followed by a parish-sponsored lunch.
- Giáo Lý (Catechism) — led by Teresa Đỗ Minh Thy
- Việt Ngữ (Vietnamese language) — led by Teresa Nguyễn Khánh-Vân
- Thiếu Nhi Thánh Thể / TNTT (Eucharistic Youth) — led by Tr. Giuse Maria Nguyễn Quốc Anh Tú
- Head of Education Board: Giuse Nguyễn Quốc Nam
- Registration: $150/student (plus $180 lunch, TNTT uniform); online signup via signup.stjvntampa.org/school
Parish Organizations and Youth
Beyond Faith Formation, the parish hosts groups for adults and young adults. The Đoàn Thanh Niên Công Giáo Phanxicô Assisi is a young-adult Catholic group (ages 18 and up) that takes St. Francis of Assisi as its patron, and works to nurture the faith of young Vietnamese Catholics, give them a place to live out their liturgical and missionary vocation, and preserve Vietnamese culture. A Bible study group (Học Thánh Kinh) meets regularly for Scripture reflection. The community also gathers on Tuesday evenings to pray before a statue of Our Lady of La Vang, recalling the Marian apparition in Vietnam during the persecutions of the 19th century.
- Đoàn Thanh Niên Công Giáo Phanxicô Assisi — patron: St. Francis of Assisi; Đoàn Trưởng: A. Phêrô Maria Ngô Sáng Tuyền (813-833-5575); Đoàn Phó Ngoại Vụ: A. Gioan Baotixita Trương Vũ (931-220-0055)
- Học Thánh Kinh — Bible study group
- Tuesday evening prayer before Our Lady of La Vang
- Lunar New Year (Tết) festival
- Parish Pastoral Council (HĐMV) — established in 1991
Devotions and Devotional Life
Devotional life is rooted in the Vietnamese Catholic tradition. The community keeps a statue of Our Lady of La Vang, and the Vietnamese faithful gather around it on Tuesday evenings for prayer. First Friday Adoration is offered from 5:00 to 6:50 PM, just before the 6:00 PM Mass, in keeping with a long-standing Vietnamese Catholic practice. The parish also celebrates the Vietnamese cultural year, with parishioners helping decorate the church for Christmas and Advent and a festival for the Lunar New Year (Tết).
- First Friday Eucharistic Adoration — 5:00–6:50 PM
- Devotion to Our Lady of La Vang — Tuesday evenings
- Seasonal church decoration for Advent and Christmas
- Lunar New Year (Tết) festival
Sacraments
The parish prepares and celebrates the usual Catholic sacraments. Catechism and sacramental preparation for First Communion and Confirmation are handled through the Ban Giáo Dục Faith Formation program. Confessions are heard Saturday evenings and by appointment. Couples seeking marriage should contact the parish office to begin preparation. Families seeking baptism for infants and children should contact the parish office at 813-397-2019.
- Baptism — contact parish office
- First Communion / Confirmation — through Ban Giáo Dục
- Marriage — contact parish office for preparation
- Confession / Reconciliation — Saturday 6:00–6:50 PM and by appointment
Our Church Building and Location
St. Joseph Vietnamese Parish is located at 5601 Hanley Road, Tampa, FL 33634, in the Town and Country area of Hillsborough County, on the west side of Tampa. The building is a former church property that the community purchased in 2020 and renovated during the COVID-19 pandemic, moving in later that year. The parish hosted its first Mass of Thanksgiving in the new space on November 25, 2020, and Bishop Gregory Parkes blessed the new altar when he officially established the parish on May 9, 2021. The church sits in Hillsborough County, in the Tampa Deanery of the Diocese of Saint Petersburg.
- Address: 5601 Hanley Road, Tampa, FL 33634
- County: Hillsborough
- Deanery: Tampa
- Building: a former church purchased 2020, renovated during the pandemic, dedicated by Bishop Parkes May 9, 2021
Contact and Getting Involved
Parishioners and visitors can reach the parish office at (813) 397-2019, with an additional cell line at (813) 403-6519. The official website is gxthanhgiusetampa.org, where the current Mass schedule, news, education program registration, and a parish activity calendar are kept up to date. New families wishing to register their children in the Ban Giáo Dục program may do so between May 1 and August 22 each year through the online signup, or by contacting the office after Sunday Masses. Young adults aged 18 and up are warmly invited to join the Đoàn Thanh Niên Công Giáo Phanxicô Assisi by contacting the group's leadership listed on the parish website.
- Parish office: (813) 397-2019
- Cell: (813) 403-6519
- Website: gxthanhgiusetampa.org
- Faith Formation signup: signup.stjvntampa.org/school (May 1 – August 22)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Nguyễn Ngọc Tước (Fr. Ignatius Tuoc)1976 – c. 2015
Invited by Tampa Vietnamese Catholics in 1976; ministered from Christ the King, then became Pastor of Epiphany Parish in 1991 while directing the St. Joseph Vietnamese Mission; oversaw founding of the parish council, catechism, and Eucharistic Youth programs.
- Rev. Peter Nguyễn Văn Tường, S.S.S.2015 – 2018
Member of the Society of the Blessed Sacrament; appointed by Bishop Robert N. Lynch to lead the St. Joseph Vietnamese Mission.
- Rev. Chien X. Dinh, S.V.D. (Gioan Baotixita Đinh Xuân Chiến)2018 – present
Member of the Society of the Divine Word; appointed by Bishop Gregory Parkes on July 1, 2018; installed as the first Pastor when the Mission was elevated to St. Joseph Vietnamese Parish on May 9, 2021.