Father Joseph Hoi adjusting to retirement from pastoral duties
Father Joseph Nguyen viet Hoi has spent the past month easing into a slower priestly pace.
The former pastor of St. Theresa Parish in Dixon and St. Cornelius Parish in Crocker retired from active ministry for health reasons on July 1.
“I’m beginning a new phase in my life,” he said on July 31. “I realize am no longer a public person in a parish setting. I’m at my own home. No one is around.”
He said he’s grateful to God for the Holy Priesthood and for the opportunity to serve the people in Jesus’s name.
One of Fr. Hoi’s main priorities now is to attend to his health, including nerve pain caused by shingles.
“I realize that this will be a long process,” he said.
A native of Vietnam, Fr. Hoi came to the United States from Saigon (now Ho Chi Min City) in August 1975 as a member of the religious Congregation of Mary, Co-Redemptrix (CMC).
He was known then as Brother Peter.
The congregation is now based in Carthage, Missouri.
Fr. Hoi studied at Conception Seminary College in Conception from 1976-80, then received a dispensation from his vows as a religious brother in order to discern a call to the Priesthood for the Jefferson City diocese.
Father Thomas Alber, senior associate pastor of St. Brendan Parish in Mexico, was in the seminary with Fr. Hoi.
“I recall that Fr. Joseph was a dedicated student of philosophy,” Fr. Alber stated. “He completed a double major in philosophy and theology upon graduating from Conception Seminary College.”
Fr. Hoi completed his priestly formation at Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis. During his studies, he also spent time working at Alexian Brothers Hospital (now St. Alexis Hospital) and St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf, both in St. Louis.
Bishop Michael F. McAuliffe of Jefferson City, now deceased, ordained Fr. Hoi to the Holy Priesthood on April 14, 1984, in St. Peter Church in Jefferson City, where Fr. Hoi had served as a deacon.
Fr. Hoi spent the summers of his years in formation with John and Henrietta Gentges of St. Martin Parish in St. Martins. Out of appreciation for their kindness, he celebrated his Mass of Thanksgiving — his first Mass after ordination — in St. Martin Church.
A year later, Fr. Hoi preached the homily at Fr. Alber’s Mass of Thanksgiving in St. Michael Church in Kahoka after Fr. Alber’s priestly ordination.
“He said that a vocation to Priesthood was like a rose: precious and beautiful to behold, but also with thorns,” Fr. Alber recalled. “You have to be careful how you hold it.”
“Peace I give you”
Monsignor Robert A. Kurwicki, pastor of St. Michael Parish in Russellville and vicar general of the Jefferson City diocese, said it was a privilege to attend the seminary with Fr. Hoi as well as to serve with him as a priest of this diocese.
“Despite the trauma of living through the Vietnam War, Fr. Hoi has always maintained an aura of calm, patience, and a good sense of humor,” Msgr. Kurwicki observed.
He added that Fr. Hoi’s experiences helped him minister to many families here who had lost sons during the Vietnam War.
Fr. Hoi served as associate pastor of St. Pius X Parish in Moberly, followed by Immaculate Conception Parish in Jefferson City, Cathedral of St. Joseph Parish in Jefferson City, and St. Peter Parish in Marshall.
He also ministered as a hospital chaplain in Jefferson City.
He then served as pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Hermitage and Our Lady of Snows Chapel in Climax Springs and associate pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Camdenton.
He then became pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in St. James and St. Anthony Parish in Rosati.
He then served as pastor of St. Mary Parish in Milan and the Mission of St. Mary in Unionville; Church of the Risen Savior Parish in Rhineland and St. Jude Thaddeus Parish in Mokane; Immaculate Conception Parish in Owensville and St. Alexander Parish in Belle; then St. Joseph Parish in Edina, St. John Parish in Memphis and the Mission of St. Aloysius in Baring.
He helped oversee the restoration of historical St. Joseph Church in Edina following a fire in August 2013.
He became pastor of the Dixon and Crocker parishes in 2015.
“Familiar faces”
Fr. Hoi said what he’ll miss most about being a pastor are the people and their example of living out the gift of baptism.
“I’ve learned so much from them and have gained so much from their generosity,” he said.
As a servant of Christ, he takes to heart Jesus’s proclamation that “the Son of Man comes not to be served but to serve,” (Mark 10:45).
He said that since becoming a priest 37 years ago, he has noticed a shift in the responsibilities that come with being a pastor.
“A priest must be not only a pastoral person but also an effective administrator,” he noted. “I do not miss one bit of this second expectation.”
Fr. Hoi has taken up residence in a home he owns in St. James.
“I was a priest at St. James from the early to late 1990s,” he noted. “At the stores, I saw familiar faces. They were young when I was their priest. Now, they are leaders of their local church. Their parents were active and even served as members of the parish council.”
Occasionally, when Fr. Hoi asks about people he remembers from his early days there, the answer is, “he died” or “she died.”
Fr. Hoi said he’s grateful to diocesan personnel, especially diocesan benefits coordinator Gala Wolfmeier, for helping him make the transition to retirement.
He maintains steadfast devotion to the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ.
“I also seek the intercession of St. Joseph and the Blessed Mother,” he stated. “I remind myself of the obligation to pray for the Church.
“Now, I add a special prayer for good health and for being faithful to God until the end,” he said.
