BRANT BEACH, N.J. – May 26, 2010 – Brother David Phan, OFM, was ordained May 22, becoming a priest with Holy Name Province, an East Coast community of the Order of Friars Minor, more commonly known as the Franciscans.

He was ordained at a Saturday morning Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Manhattan, the province's flagship church, along with the Lawrence Anderson, OFM, of Pompton Lakes, N.J. Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington D.C., celebrated the Mass, with assistance from the Rev. John O'Connor, OFM, Holy Name's provincial minister.

Phan, 41, who was graduated from the Washington Theological Union in Washington, D.C., in early May, is now assigned to St. Francis of Assisi Parish on Long Beach Island, N.J., where he served as an intern and which the Franciscans have staffed since 1928.

The Vietnam native, who immigrated to the United States when he was 15 and was raised in Oregon is one of 10 siblings, four of whom are committed to religious life. In the last few years, he has ministered in many roles, including hospital chaplaincy, prison and parish ministry, and service to the poor. Phan earned an undergraduate degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and professed his solemn, or final, vows as a Franciscan in 2007.

"The spirituality of St. Francis continues to capture my imagination," Phan said, adding "I feel that making a long-term commitment is one of the ways to model countercultural theology in our present time. It is a way to express the ultimate good."

Many of the guests at Saturday's ordination were from Our Lady of Vietnam parish in Silver Spring, Md.

About Holy Name Province

Holy Name Province is one of seven provinces in the United States that belong to the Order of Friars Minor. Holy Name is the largest U.S. province, with ministries in 12 states along the East Coast. Its more than 350 Catholic priests and brothers serve in colleges, parishes, urban ministry centers and a wide variety of social ministries, as well as in overseas missions.

The Order, founded in 1209 by St. Francis of Assisi, commemorated its 800th anniversary last year. Today, St. Francis, whose feast day is Oct. 4, remains one of the most widely-known saints, revered for his affection for nature and care for creation.