SAN DIEGO — Pope Leo XIV has made his first U.S. bishop appointment, tapping Bishop Michael Pham to lead the San Diego Diocese.
The Holy See Press Office officially announced May 22 that 58-year-old Bishop Pham, who had been serving as diocesan administrator for about two months, had been appointed as the diocese’s seventh bishop.
He succeeds Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, who led the Diocese of San Diego for 10 years before his installation as archbishop of Washington, D.C., in March.
Bishop Pham’s own installation Mass is scheduled for July 17.
In a written statement, Bishop Pham expressed feelings of “profound gratitude and blessing” about his new assignment.
“I cannot express enough how grateful I am to God for blessing me with graces to serve God’s people,” he said. “I am deeply thankful to Pope Leo XIV, who entrusted me with this portion of the Lord’s vineyard.”
“I look forward to continuing the mission of our diocese,” he said, “as we embrace the call to be a synodal Church, where we listen, dialogue and advance forward with a grateful heart.”
A known quantity in the diocese, Bishop Pham moved to San Diego with his parents and siblings in 1985, discerned a call to the priesthood here, was ordained a priest of the diocese, and then rose through the ecclesiastical ranks to become one of the diocese’s auxiliary bishops.
Bishop Pham expected that, if he were ever appointed to lead a diocese of his own, it would mean leaving what has been his home for four decades. But, when Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States, called him on May 14 to ask if would accept the recent appointment, he was “so ecstatic and thrilled” that he could continue to minister in San Diego.
Bishop Pham told Pastoral Center staff May 22 that such an occurrence, going from priest to bishop in the same diocese, is “really rare.”
With his appointment, Bishop Pham makes history as the first bishop of San Diego to have been ordained to the priesthood for this diocese. He is also one of only three Vietnamese American bishops in the United States and the first of them to lead a diocese; the other two are auxiliary bishops.
Leadership Path
Born in Da Nang, Vietnam, Bishop Pham fled his homeland in 1980 with his family, living in a Malaysian refugee camp for months before being sponsored by an American family to come to the United States.
Feeling called to the priesthood, Bishop Pham began his formation at St. Francis Center, located on the University of San Diego campus, and completed his theological studies at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, California. He was ordained a priest on June 25, 1999.
Bishop Pham served as associate pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Oceanside; diocesan vocations director; pastor of Holy Family in Linda Vista, St. Therese Parish in Del Cerro, and Good Shepherd Parish in Mira Mesa; and Vicar for Clergy.
In 2017, he was appointed Vicar for Ethnic and Intercultural Communities. In that role, he developed the Pentecost Mass for All Peoples, a multilingual Mass and festival of ethnic foods that has been held annually since 2018. This year’s will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, June 7, at Cathedral Catholic High School.
He took on additional responsibilities in 2019, when he was appointed a vicar general of the diocese, a position that authorized him to act as the bishop’s representative in diocesan administration.
Along with then Father Felipe Pulido of the Diocese of Yakima, Washington, he was appointed an auxiliary bishop of San Diego on June 6, 2023.
While in Rome attending an orientation for new bishops, Bishop Pham had the opportunity to meet then Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, who recently became Pope Leo XIV.
At a press conference held May 22 at the Pastoral Center, Bishop Pham spoke warmly of Cardinal McElroy’s legacy and expressed a desire to build upon the foundation laid by his predecessor, whom he said had “mentored” him over the past eight years.
He expressed his commitment to synodality, which the cardinal also had championed. It’s a multi-year initiative launched by Pope Francis that calls for parishes to transform the way they make key decisions, inviting all voices to the table, including those on the margins.
Pursuit of Unity
Giai Do, a leader in San Diego’s Vietnamese community, and his wife first met then Father Pham on the day he was ordained to the priesthood in June of 1999. He said the Vietnamese community was overjoyed at that milestone.
“He was so approachable, so humble, and so happy on that day,” said Do, who added that he had the privilege of working with him when he was the pastor of his home parish of Holy Family Church for more than 10 years.
He again had the opportunity to collaborate with Bishop Pham when he launched the Pentecost Mass and festival. He credits the event’s success to the bishop’s leadership style of listening to the faithful, providing feedback and then trusting that all would work together toward a common goal.
“He is genuine in his love for the Church,” Do said. “Whether acting as a pastor or a vicar, Bishop Pham constantly and persistently thinks of ways to bring the faithful together and to strengthen the Local Church.”
In 2016, Vi Phung was a leader of the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement at Good Shepherd Parish when then Father Pham became pastor there. The parish is home to several ethnic cultures.
“From Day One, his vision was unity: to ensure every ethnic community served as one cohesive parish at Good Shepherd,” she said. “The seven years that I worked alongside him was truly an extraordinary journey. He genuinely fostered a spirit of togetherness and service that uplifted everyone.”
Over the years, she’s continued to work with him at Vietnamese community events at local and national levels, as well as diocesan events.
“He always celebrated the youth, the future of our Church…,” she said. “As a young woman in leadership, I really appreciate his continuous support of me and our youth.”
She rejoiced at the news that Pope Leo had appointed Bishop Pham to lead the San Diego Diocese.
“I can’t help but feel so proud of our Vietnamese heritage,” she said, “the diversity in our Universal Church and the grace of God we have been blessed with. May Jesus in the Eucharist always unite with Bishop Pham.”
