Then the Vietnam War came and took his father’s life, and Mahn fled.

As a devastated teenager, young Mahn Tran found himself in a camp with his cousin in Thailand after escaping Vietnam by boat.  There, he encountered Father Joe Devlin, S.J., whom Father Mahn considers his own Moses in a time of personal exodus. Father Mahn shared how, “In Thailand, Father Devlin’s presence planted a seed. Years later, after working in the United States, after I visited my family in Vietnam, that childhood dream of becoming a priest returned. I went on an Ignatian retreat, and with much prayer and discernment, I decided to take a leap of faith and join the Jesuits. That changed the course of my life.”

Father David Holdcroft and Jesuit Refugee Service

For Father Mahn, the help of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) was instrumental to his journey. To them he credits his successes in the United States, where he earned a degree and worked in accounting before becoming a priest. A global organization, JRS strategizes with local teams to ensure that displaced persons become successful and self-sufficient members of their new societies. In 1980, JRS responded when the “boat people,” including the future Father Mahn, fled Southeast Asia and settled in the Bay Area and Orange County in the wake of the Vietnam War.

Australian Jesuit Father David Holdcroft currently leads the JRS’s Economic Inclusion and Pathfinder Initiatives, where he works from Rome, strategizing with JRS teams worldwide on how to best serve displaced peoples.  He recently visited the Bay Area to speak on the work of JRS. Father David shared his thoughts on acknowledging the dignity of those seeking asylum, “I would like to say that the refugee, or the state of being one, is something that is part of the Catholic DNA. Christ also fits the definition of one who had to flee.” According to Father David, “From that group, and by extension other groups of vulnerable people, we stand to learn about the faithfulness of God when we begin to encounter them. This is what the great parable of Matthew 25 is about: ‘when I was naked, you clothed me,’ and all the rest of it.”

Misericordia and Missionary work

For Father David, a lifetime of working with those who have lost everything, has taught him about the misericordia of God, which can be translated as having a heart (Latin: cor) or compassion for those who suffer (miseria). For him, this simply means that God never abandons us. Father David reflected, “Refugees are ordinary human beings who have suffered a massive rupture in their lives because of the unjust decisions or actions of other people. I have experienced how, amid some terrible situations, a refugee can say to me, ‘We only have God to rely on now.’  Collectively, they have helped me grow in that trust which is so necessary for the practice of my or indeed anyone's faith.”

With Father David, Father Mahn believes that concrete missionary work arises from having misericordia or a compassionate heart.  From his own experience, Father Mahn attests to the concrete impact of the Church’s outreach to refugees in his life. “I did not realize it at that time, but my cousin did our legal paperwork for us to stay in the U.S. through Catholic Charities. I was blown away when I realized that the Church is involved in reality, not just concerned with prayer and the Mass. To me, that was an amazing realization.”

In a time when the United States is pulling back on foreign assistance, stories about Father David’s work with JRS and the firsthand experiences of those with stories like Father Mahn Tran’s may serve to remind us why hospitality for the displaced is critical to our identity and core to Catholic social teaching, as we put God’s faithfulness into action.

Faith Shaped Over Time

Father Mahn reflected on how his time in the refugee camp profoundly shaped his faith. “I often felt abandoned by God — lonely and homesick — yet I also experienced God’s faithfulness through those who cared for me. Many adults looked after me; they were the hands and feet of Christ. Now, as a Jesuit and parish priest, I strive to do the same: to accompany, listen, love, and serve those in need. In parish ministry, I walk with people through life’s joys and struggles, encountering Christ in their faith and resilience.”

Father David, who never expected to be in his line of work, shared, “Refugees have helped me understand this dynamic of God inviting himself to where we are, no matter what circumstances or whatever barriers that others, or we ourselves, put up. They have helped me live away from an ideal of perfection that I grew up with and have enabled me to ‘accept the mess,’ so to speak. This is a matter of the profoundest gratitude for me.”

Father Mahn also related how his own experiences, combined with the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, have influenced his homilies and ministry. “My homilies this year have become more realistic. I am speaking more about the realities of life. I also see God clearly in broken hearts—in confession, prison, and hospital rooms. These encounters deepen my relationship with Christ and inspire me every day. I feel compassion when I encounter those who are suffering. I try to give them hope, because I myself have experienced how God has rescued me.”