Name: Thanh, Mark Tran Xuan
Born: 17 August 1930
Where Born: Vietnam
Ordained: 7 March 1959
Where Ordained: Saigon, South Vietnam
Served From-To: 1975-1977 (Refugee)
Died: 27 April 2001
Where Died: Indianapolis, Indiana
Buried: 1 May 2001 – Calvary Cemetery-Grave 103-Priests Circle-Indianapolis, Indiana.
_____________________
From “The Criterion” 4 May 2001
Father Mark Tran-Xuan Thanh, 70, a retired priest who served the Vietnamese Catholic community in the archdiocese for more than 20 years, died on April 27 at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.
Father Thanh was appointed by the late Archbishop George J. Biskup to care for the Vietnamese Catholics in the archdiocese on June 13, 1977. He retired from active ministry in July of 1997, but continued to minister as his health permitted. He lived at the St. Joseph Parish rectory in Indianapolis. The funeral Mass was celebrated on May 1 at St. Joseph Church. Burial followed in the Priests Circle at Calvary Cemetery.
Father Thanh was ordained on March 7, 1959, in Saigon by Archbishop Alselm Le huu Tu for the Diocese of Dalat in South Vietnam. After Vietnam fell to the communists, he went to Guam Island for a month, then
came to Indiantown Gap Camp in Pennsylvania in 1975 with other Vietnamese refugees. He was sponsored by a friend in the Boston area, and stayed at St. William Parish there while learning the English language.
After entering into a contractual agreement to minister for a period of three years, he came to the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in 1977 and worked with Father Lawrence Voelker, who was director of Catholic Charities at the time. He resided at the Holy Trinity Parish rectory in Indianapolis.
In October of 1978, he was assigned as associate pastor of St. Andrew Parish in Richmond under the supervision of Father Clifford Vogelsang, the pastor at the time. He continued his work with Vietnamese
refugees while studying English, American customs and the customs of the Catholic Church in the U.S.
Father Thanh was granted permission to remain in the archdiocese at the conclusion of the contract, and continued to serve the sacramental needs of the Vietnamese community. In July of 1987, the late Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara appointed him to assist Father Mark Svarczkopf, who was pastor of St. Catherine Parish and administrator of St. Patrick, St. James and Holy Rosary parishes in Indianapolis. He provided sacramental assistance at those parishes as needed and continued pastoral care of the Catholic Vietnamese refugees residing in the archdiocese.
In August of 1988, Father Thanh moved to St. Joseph Parish, where he assisted Father Glenn O’Connor, pastor, and ministered to Vietnamese Catholics, continuing in ministry after his official retirement in July of 1997.
Survivors include two brothers, Minh and Hong Tran, and a sister, Hoa Tran. †