Saint Vincent Seminary welcomed 11 new students for the 2024-2025 academic year, including nine men who will be in formation for priesthood ordination. They are from the dioceses of Charleston, South Carolina; Ogdensburg, New York; Pittsburgh and Steubenville, Ohio and the Archdiocese of Hanoi, Vietnam. There is also a student from Saint Benedict Monastery, Nigeria and two from Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe.
ARCHDIOCESE OF HANOI
Van Dung (Joseph) Ngo of Hanoi, Vietnam, is a 2017 graduate of A Thanh Liem High School, Vietnam. He earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from Hanoi Law University in 2021. His parents are Van Vinh Ngo and Thi Huong Lai of Vietnam.
Duc Thang (Joseph) Vu of Hanoi, Vietnam, is a 2016 graduate of Phu Xuyen A High School, Hanoi. He earned an engineering degree from the University of Transport and Communications in 2020, majoring in heat and refrigeration engineering. He began studies at Saint Joseph Seminary in Hanoi in 2021. His parents are Van Tot Vu and Thi Than Luong of Hanoi.
DIOCESE OF CHARLESTON
Daniel Fitzgerald of Columbia, South Carolina, is a 2010 graduate of George Walton Comprehensive High School, Marietta, Georgia. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from Georgia Institute of Technology in 2015 and a Master of Arts degree in philosophy from Notre Dame Seminary in 2019. He has also studied at the Institute for Priestly Formation at Creighton University. His parents are Steven Fitzgerald of Marietta and the late Mary Fitzgerald.
DIOCESE OF OGDENSBURG
Venes Laine of Morrisonville, New York, is a 2003 graduate of Port-au-Prince High School, Haiti. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (2023) in philosophy from the Pontifical College Josephinum, Columbus, Ohio and studied in the Master of Divinity degree program at The Josephinum before transferring to Saint Vincent Seminary. His parents are Seramand Laine and Merita Dolce of Anse-d’Hainault, Jeremie, Haiti.
Dennis Ombongi of Massena, New York, is a 2005 graduate of Saint James Gionsaria Secondary School, Kisii, Kenya. He earned an Associate of Arts degree in 2020 from Holy Apostles College and Seminary, Connecticut, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2022 from the Pontifical College Josephinum, Columbus, Ohio, where he then went on to earn the Master of Divinity degree in 2024. His parents are Christopher Ombongi Ondwari and Mary Nyansiaboka Ombongi of Kisii, Kenya.
DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH
Din Cong (Joseph) Pham of Ky Anh, Ha Tinh, Vietnam, is a 2008 graduate of Tran Hung Dao High School, Hue, Thua Thien Hue, Vietnam. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Franciscan University, Steubenville in 2020. His parents are Hoang Dinh Pham and Nhuong Thi Nguyen of Ky Anh, Ha Tinh, Vietnam.
DIOCESE OF STEUBENVILLE
Samuel Ivkovich of Steubenville is a 2012 graduate of Catholic Central High School, Steubenville. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (2016) in psychology, with a clinical concentration, and a Master of Arts degree (2019) in clinical mental health counseling with a crisis/trauma concentration, both from Franciscan University of Steubenville. His parents are Samuel and Rosemary Ivkovich of Steubenville.
Christopher McGurn of Wintersville, Ohio, is a 2015 graduate of Jefferson County Christian School, Wintersville. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication arts from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2019 and the Bachelor of Philosophy degree from Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, in 2024. His parents are Joseph and Ana Nuria McGurn of Wintersville.
SAINT BENEDICT MONASTERY
Brother Anthony Olajide, O.S.B., of Ondo Diocese, Nigeria, is a 2006 graduate of Oghosa Education Centre, Benin City, Nigeria. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Claretian Institute of Philosophy, an affiliate of the IMO State University in Imo, Nigeria. His parents are Joseph Olajide and the late Christianah Oladije of Ondo Town, Ondo State, Nigeria.
SAINT VINCENT ARCHABBEY
Brother Irenaeus (Le Thien Minh) Nguyen, O.S.B., of Vietnam, graduated from Thoai Ngoc Hitu High School and completed undergraduate work at FPT University, Greenwich, United Kingdom, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science software. He received a high diploma in computer software from FPT-Aptech Academy in India. His parents are Van Sinh Nguyen and Thi Hoa Thuy, Le, of Long Xuyen, An Giang, Vietnam.
Brother Kolbe Seibert, O.S.B., of Towanda, Pennsylvania, attended Wilkes University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering in 2017 and a Master of Science degree in bioengineering in 2019. His parents are Lane and Marie Seibert of Towanda.
Caption: The new seminarians are pictured with members of the Seminary Orientation Committee.
