WHAT BEGAN AS A question—“How is your fish dinner?”—became an in-depth discussion between La Purísima pastor Fr. Martin Nguyen and long-time St. Cecilia parishioner Virginia Mort.
LA PURÍSIMA STUDENTS GATHER FOR A PHOTO DURING A MAY 6 FIELD TRIP TO ST. JOHN’S SEMINARY.
Mort loves the parish fish fries and rarely misses a Friday dinner during Lent. During their conversation, Fr. Martin mentioned that he had chartered a bus and was taking students on a field trip to St. John’s Seminary. The trip was planned for May 6, but Fr. Martin was short on the funds needed to cover the $1,000 cost of renting a bus. Mort, during her many years of involvement with the Orange County Serra Club, has been closely involved with supporting seminarians at St. John’s Seminary. She smiled and said, “I might be able to solve this dilemma for you.”
Mort acted quickly, discussing with the current Serra Club president, Lulu Papac, an opportunity that could help guide young Catholics into religious life. The pledge was approved, and the dilemma was solved.
LEFT, FR. MARTIN NGUYEN HOLDS A CHECK FROM THE SERRA CLUB. NEXT TO FATHER IS VIRGINIA MORT, A LONG-TIME SERRA CLUB MEMBER. ALSO PICTURED: ROSA RAMIREZ, PRINCIPAL OF LA PURÍSIMA SCHOOL AND LULU PAPAC, CURRENT SERRA CLUB PRESIDENT.
The 37 students in grades sixth through eighth were able to take the trip to Camarillo and tour the seminary grounds and buildings. For Fr. Martin, this field trip was a passion project.
Fr. Martin, who is in his fourth year as pastor at La Purísima, attended St. John’s Seminary before being ordained in 2005. He believes strongly in promoting Catholic education and vocations.
“This is the age to capture the interest of children and steer them to a path toward a religious vocation.”
Two current St. John’s Seminary seminarians have ties to La Purísima: Shane Duffy is a parishioner at La Purísima and Nicholas Meneses, a former student, who led the tour on May 6. Nicholas also spends time at La Purísima during his summer breaks. Fr. Martin calls him “a role model for the students.”
The timing of this field trip was also important, as it coincided with the school’s 60th anniversary and the Diocese of Orange’s 50th anniversary. Additionally, this field trip came on the heels of the annual eighth-grade East Coast trip, which included Fr. Martin celebrating Mass for the students at the Basilica of The National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. D.C.
Principal Rosa Ramirez has a long history with La Purísima School. She is an alumna, a former teacher at the school and her children attended La Purísima. She concurred with Fr. Martin on the importance of Catholic education and on the mission of the Pax Christi Academies network of schools, of which La Purísima is a member, that strives to make Catholic education accessible to all families.
“Students and parents were equally excited for this opportunity,” Ramirez said. “This event is the first of its kind for a school in the Diocese of Orange.”
The casual interaction between a priest greeting a parishioner at a fish fry indeed helped advance Fr. Martin Nguyen’s goal of exposing La Purísima School students to the possibility of religious life while creating lasting memories with their classmates.