Sister My Huong Pham is with the Sisters of Providence. She lives at St. John Vianney convent in Northlake. She’s been a nun for 27 years.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I grew up in Vietnam.
Q: When did you realize that you wanted to be a nun?
A: When I was 21, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. One day after Mass, one of the nuns came up to me and asked me if I would consider becoming a religious person. From that moment on, I focused on God’s calling. Now, I’ve been a nun for 27 years. I love it!
Q: What have you done to help others throughout your career in Vietnam?
A: In Vietnam, I taught at a Montessori school. I did missionary work in a suburban area. I helped the very poor. I also got involved with administrative work at a preschool in the south of Vietnam.
Q: When did you move to the United States?
A: I came to the U.S. in 1998. I wanted to study theology and spirituality. I wanted to have a broader view of cultures.
Q: Where did you study theology when you came to the United States?
A: I studied theology at St. Mary-of-the-Woods in Indiana. For my master’s degree, I went to St. John School of Theology and Seminary in Minnesota. After that, I went back to Vietnam to work for the Dominican Sisters. I came back to the U.S. in 2006. I realized I wanted to be a spiritual counselor to the sick.
Q: Did you like being a counselor?
A: I did. I was a spiritual counselor and administrative assistant at Our Lady of Lavang Church in Texas. It’s a Vietnamese Catholic Church. I worked with couples, the elderly and troubled teens. I worked there for five years.
Q: Why did you move to back the Midwest?
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A: I wanted to become a Sister of Providence. I worked at the Sisters of Providence health center in 2015, which is an assisted living rehab center. I thought it would be better to serve people in the clinical field, so I studied clinical pastoral education. I did my residency in Indiana for a year. Now I work at Avalon Hospice in Berwyn.
Q: Why did you attend Mass on the Grass at St. Mother Theodore Guerin Parish in River Grove on Sept. 15?
A: I wanted to get acquainted with the parishioners. I went with Sister Carol Meyers. I currently live in Northlake with eight other sisters.
Q: What do you like about the neighborhood?
A: The people are so friendly. They’re so friendly and are willing to be engaged. I feel like I’m at home. I like that the Catholic churches are so close.
Q: What do you like the most about being a nun?
A: I have gotten to meet so many people. My relationship with God has gone beyond any type of human relationship. I like to explore people’s deepest levels of their soul. That’s how I see God.
Q: What advice would you give someone who wants to be a nun?
A: It’s for a person who wants to bring love, peace and justice to the world and carry that message through humanity. Love with all of your compassionate heart, and God will be there.