Dominican Fr. Peter Do transferring to Oregon

Intermountain Catholic

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Saint Catherine of Siena Newman Center was Dominican Father Peter Do's first assignment as a priest; he now has been assigned to a parish in Eugene, Ore. IC file photo

SALT LAKE CITY — After five years as parochial vicar at Saint Catherine of Siena Newman Center, Dominican Father Peter Do has been re-assigned by his order. In June, he will become pastor at Saint Thomas More Newman Center at the University of Oregon in Eugene.

Like his current assignment, St. Thomas More is also a parish and Newman Center, located directly across the street from the university, although the community is a little smaller, Fr. Peter said.

"I’m excited. Very excited" about the change in scenery and community, as well as the "challenge of taking on that leadership role," he said.

At St. Catherine of Siena, he has been involved in all of the ministries, from leading the RCIA program to training altar servers to attending retreats with the students, as well as administering the sacraments, he said.

"My fond memories are many. One that I’m not just fond of but also kind of proud of is seeing the students come through here, and helping them to grow in their faith and helping them to become leaders, and then they graduate and move on," he said. "That’s something I’ve really enjoyed seeing."

In a sense, the move to Oregon will be a homecoming – he grew up in Portland, and many of his relatives still live there, he said. After attending seminary in Oakland, Calif., he was given Utah as his first priestly assignment.

The change from the seminary’s focus on academics to the pastoral emphasis at the parish required some adjustment, Fr. Peter said, as was leaving a community of at least 30 brothers with a daily rhythm of prayer and study. By comparison, there are two other Dominicans at St. Catherine of Siena, and as a priest he can be called to minister at any time of the day or night.

He has enjoyed living in a smaller Dominican community, he said, and life with the parish, sharing the people’s experiences and being present to them.

"There’s not a single thing that I’ve learned here that I won’t take with me," he said. "I’ll miss the community here. The people have been wonderful."

In addition to serving as pastor of St. Thomas More Newman Center, Fr. Peter will become the superior of the Dominican community of friars in Eugene. He sums up those responsibilities by saying he primarily will be "taking care of the needs of the brothers."

St. Catherine of Siena pastor Dominican Fr. Carl Schlichte has been able to give Fr. Peter some detailed information about St. Thomas More Parish. "That has a soft spot in my heart because that was my first pastorate as well," he said.

Fr. Peter "is a delightful person to work with," Fr. Carl said. "He is a very joy-filled person. … He’s very even-keeled, so even when the you-know-what hits the fan, he is calm, cool and collected, and that’s a quality I very much appreciate about him. He’s also generous with his time, and he is easily able to minister to the students, to the young families, the kids, the older folks – everybody. It’s not forced. It happens very naturally. The absolutely unique thing about him is his cultural background – having been born in Vietnam, having escaped Vietnam and coming to the United States at a very young age."

Because he speaks Vietnamese, Fr. Peter said he occasionally has been called upon to assist with hearing confessions at the Carmelite monastery in Holladay, where many of the nuns are from Vietnam.

"I’ve always enjoyed being able to minister to the religious sisters," said Fr. Peter, whose aunt and sister are both members of the Daughters of Charity. "I feel that bond. One of the principles I go by is that if the sisters want it, they get it."

Fr. Peter’s last day at St. Catherine of Siena is June 10. Another Dominican already has been assigned locally, said Fr. Carl, and "just to prove that God has a great sense of humor, he also will be a Fr. Peter."

A farewell for Fr. Peter Do is scheduled for May 11, after the 10:45 a.m. Mass at St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center, 170 University St., SLC.