 Br. Tap Vu, OP
Br. Tap was born in Vietnam in 1959. He escaped Vietnam in 1980 with his family and
settled in the USA in 1981. He studied Mechanical Engineering at Wichita State University
in Kansas and graduated with a Ph. D. degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1995. Immediately
after graduation, he worked for the Air Force (as a civilian) in San Antonio, TX. After
being cut due to military downsizing, he worked for a small company in Hesperia,
California. In the year 2000, he came back to Wichita State University to prepare for a
teaching position in the Fall 2001.
The sex scandal broke out early in 2001. Br. Tap felt that he should be a priest to
relieve the shortage presumably resulting from the scandal. With some concern about his
age, he hesitatingly applied to the Camden diocese in New Jersey, his hometown. To his
surprise, he was accepted but had to wait until Fall 2002 to start his formation. In the
meantime, a Vietnamese priest invited him to live in the rectory to help him minister the
parish.
During this time, Br. Tap received several calls from Vietnamese Dominicans,
encouraging him to join the Order. So he visited the Dominican house in Virginia in May
and the priory in Calgary, Canada, in June 2002. He believed he was called to the
Dominican life, and decided to try it in July 2002 (in the Novitiate). He made simple vows
on August 10th, 2003.
Br. Tap started his study for the priesthood in the Fall
2003. He is residing at St. Albert Priory in Oakland,
California.
[Updated 9/10/03]
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