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Rev. vănThanh Nguyễn, S.V.D.

Professor of New Testament Studies

Holder of the Bishop Francis X. Ford, M.M., Chair of Catholic Missiology

Chair, Department of Biblical Literature and Languages

Education

SThD, Pontifical Gregorian University

MA, Catholic Theological Union

M.Div. in Theology, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, Illinois

B.A. in Philosophy, Divine Word College, Epworth, Iowa

Contact

tnguyen@ctu.edu

Biography

vănThanh is a Professor of New Testament Studies and the holder of the Bishop Francis Xavier Ford, Maryknoll, Chair of Catholic Missiology at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois. He earned a doctorate in Sacred Scripture (STD) at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and has served on the CTU faculty since 2005. He has published widely in the areas of Bible, migration, and mission. He has authored several books and numerous articles and chapters in books, including “Acts” in The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the 21st Century. His latest book, What Does the Bible Say About Strangers, Migrants, and Refugees?, has been translated into Spanish and Mandarin/Chinese.

He is a missionary priest of the Society of the Divine Word (S.V.D.) and was elected to several leadership positions in his religious community. He served on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Missiology (2017-2021) and was a convener and coordinator of Biblical Studies and Mission (BISAM) in the International Association for Mission Studies (IASM; 2012-2022). He is an associate editor of the Journal of the International Association for Mission Studies (MS; 2013-present), and is an active member of the following professional organizations: the Catholic Biblical Association; the Society of Biblical Literature, and the American Society of Missiology. He serves on the CBA Committee on Research Reports (2023-).

He has also led many of CTU’s Israel Retreats and Biblical Lands Study and Travel Programs in Greece, Turkey, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Jordan, and Egypt. He has lectured in many countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Caribbean (Saint Martin and Anguilla in the West Indies), Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, China, Taiwan, and Mongolia. He gives presentations, workshops, and retreats both nationally and internationally. He regularly helps out on Sundays, presiding and preaching in intercultural and multi-language parishes. He is also fluent in Vietnamese and Spanish. He is an outdoor person who enjoys being with nature and exercising, particularly riding bicycle and playing golf.

vănThanh Nguyễn, SVD

Achievements

Publications
Media
Awards
Professional Memberships
Leadership Positions and Experience

Books

  • Community of Missionary Disciples: The Acts of the Apostles. Biblical Studies from the CBA. Paulist Press, forthcoming.
  • “Acts.” In The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. Ed. by Donald Senior, John J. Collins, Barbara Reid and Gina Hens-Piazza. 1445-1519. London: T&T Clark, 2022. (Book length)
  • What Does the Bible Say about Strangers, Migrants, and Refugees? New York: New City Press, 2021. This book was awarded first place in the Scripture category by the Catholic Media Conference in 2022. This book has been translated into Spanish and Chinese/Manderin. The Spanish version is: ?Que dice la Biblia sobre los extranjeros, los migrantes y los refugiados? Estrellas, Spain: Editorial Verbo Divino, 2022.
  • Stories of Early Christianity: Creative Retellings of Faith and History. Liguori, MO: Liguori Publications, 2013. Revised and translated into Vietnamese titled, Giáo Hội Sơ Khai: Những Câu Chuyện Chưa Từng Kể (TPHCM, Viet Nam: Nhà Xuất Bản Tôn Giáo, 2015).
  • Peter and Cornelius: A Story of Conversion and Mission. American Society of Missiology Scholarly Monograph Series 15. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2012.
  • The Legitimation of the Gentile Mission and Integration: A Narrative Approach to Acts 10:1—11:18. Pontificiae Universitatis Gregoriannae. Rome 2004. [Excerpta ex dissertatione]

Edited Books

  • [with Lazar Stanislaus] Missionary Discipleship in Glocal Context. Germany: Styler Missionswissenschafliches Institute, 2018.
  • [with John Prior] God’s People on the Move: Biblical and Global Perspectives of Migration and Mission. Pickwick Publications, 2014.  [Chosen as Fifteen Outstanding Books of 2014 for Mission Studies by the International Bulletin for Missionary Research.]

Chapters in Books

  • “‘About Whom, May I Ask You?’ (Acts 8:34): Isaiah’s Servant Songs in Luke-Acts.” In SVD Mission in Contexts: Creative Responses in A Wounded World, edited by Anthony Le Duc, SVD. 240-252. Bangkok, Thailand: St. John’s University, 2025.
  • “Di Dân Và Loan Báo Tin Mừng Trong Bối Cảnh Châu Á.” 75-88. In Di Dân Việt Nam Với Sứ Mạng Loan Báo Tin Mừng (transl. Proclamation of the Gospel through Vietnamese Migration). Ed. Anthony Lê Đức. Asian Research Center for Religion and Social Communication (ARC), St. John’s University, Thailand, 2025.
  • “Sinh Thái Học, Thiên Tai và Di Cư Qua Lăng Kính Kinh Thánh,” (Ecology and Migration through the Lens of the Bible) in Chăm Sóc Ngôi Nhà Chung (Caring for Our Common Home). Ed. Anthony Lê Đức, SVD, 221-229. Bangkok, Thailand: Asian Research Center for Religion and Social Communication, St. John’s University, 2024.
  • “The Global Migration Crisis and the Church’s Response: A Biblical Perspective.” In ‘Migrants and Pilgrims as Our Ancestors’ (1 Chr 29:15): Theology of Human Mobility in the 21st Century. Ed. By Elizangela Chaves Dias, Also Skoda, and Veronica De Sanctis. 61-80. Rome, Italy: Tau Editrice, 2023.
  • “Mission and Biblical Studies: Convergences, Challenges, and Prospects.” In The Oxford Handbook of Mission Studies. Eds. Kirsteen Kim, Knud Jørgensen and Alison Fitchett-Climenhaga. Oxford: University Press, 2022.
  • “To, Among, and With Migrants.” In Migration, Mission, and Ministry: An Introduction. Eds. Robert C. Romero and Stephen E. Burris, 253-272. Skyforest, CA: Urban Loft Publishers, 2022.
  • “Migration in the New Testament: The Quest for Home.” In Christian Theology in the Age of Migration: Implications for World Christianity. Ed. by Peter C. Phan. 69-84. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2020.
  • “Revelation from the Margins: A Vietnamese American Perspective.” T&T Clark Handbook of Asian American Biblical Hermeneutics. Eds Uriah Y. Kim and Seung Ai Yang.  439-448. London: T&T Clark, 2019.
  • “A Bamboo Priest: An Asian-American Way of Religious Priesthood. ” Priesthood in Religious Life: Searching for New Ways Forward.  Eds. Stephen Bevans and Robin Ryan. 161-173. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2018.
  • “The Final Testimony of Missio Dei: A Missiological Reading of Revelation.” Christian Mission, Contextual Theology, Prophetic Dialogue. Essays in Honor of Stephen B. Bevans.  Eds. Dale T. Irvin and Peter C. Phan. 3-16. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2018.
  • “A Biblical Foundation of Missionary Discipleship.” In Missionary Discipleship in Glocal Context. Eds. Lazar Stanislaus and vanThanh Nguyen. 121-135. Germany: Steyler Missionswissenschaftliches Institute, 2018.
  • “Missionary Churches in Acts: A Model of Intercultural Engagement with the Nations.” Contemporary Mission Theology: Engaging the Nations. Eds. Robert L. Gallagher and Paul Hertig. 135-145. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2017.
  • “Preaching in the New Testament.” Handbook for Catholic Preachers. Eds. Edward Foley, et al. 41-50. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2016.
  • “’Light Shines in Darkness’ (Jn 1:5): Sharing Our Intercultural Life and Mission.” Light Shining in Darkness: PANAM Pathways of Mission. In Word and Deed, No. 4. Ed. Lazar Thanuzraj Stanislaus. 53-81. SVD Publications, Rome, 2016.
  • “Reading the Bible in the New Christianity.” World Christianity and Global Theologizing: Perspectives and Insights. Eds. Jonathan Tan and Anh Tran. 109-126. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Press, 2016.
  • “Prophetic Christology in the New Testament.” Mission on the Road to Emmaus: Constants, Context and Prophetic Dialogue. Eds. Steve Bevans and Cathy Ross. 3-18. SCM Press: 2015.
  • “The Perennial Spirituality of Jesus according to Luke.” Plural Spiritualities: North American Experiences. Ed. Robert Schreiter. 177-196. San Antonio, TX: Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, 2015.
  • “Siervo de Yavé” (Servant of the LORD). Pasión de Jesucristo. Eds. Luis Diez Merino, Robin Ryan, Adolfo Lippi. 1201-1211. Madrid: San Pablo, 2015.
  • “Migrants as Missionaries: The Case of Priscilla and Aquila.” God’s People on the Move: Biblical and Global Perspectives of Migration and Mission. Eds. vanThanh Nguyen and John Prior. 62-75. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2014.
  • “Current Trends of Migration in Asia: Prospects and Challenges.” God’s People on the Move: Biblical and Global Perspectives of Migration and Mission. Eds. vanThanh Nguyen and John Prior. 159-172. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2014.
  • “Biblical Foundations for Interculturality.” Interculturality. Ed. Martin Ueffing. Roscommon 25; Sankt Augustin: Steyler Missionswiissenschaftliches Institut, 2013. 37-48. [Originally published in Verbum SVD 54:1 (2013) 35-47.]
  • “Priscilla và Aquila: Gia Đình Kitô Hữu Gương Mẫu.” Hôn Nhân và Gia Đình. Ed. Nguyễn Khắc Hy, PSS. 113-125. Westminster, CA: Asian Printing, 2015. Online version: http://vietcatholic.net/media/honnhanvagiadinh.pdf

  • Recipient of the 2025-26 Research Grants from the Catholic Biblical Association for the Promotion of Biblical Scholarship to research and write: “A Church of Missionary Disciples: The Acts of the Apostles. The book is part of the series, “Biblical Studies from CBA,” published by Paulist Press.
  • Recipient of the 2025-26 Sullivan Faculty Research Support Grant Fund to participate and give a paper at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in Boston, MA, in November 2025.
  • Recipient of the 2024-25 Osiek Faculty Development Grants to participate in the International Conference on Mission at the Gregorian University in Rome, Italy, from 27 to 29 of March 2025.

    Catholic Biblical Association (CBA) Society of Biblical Literature (SBL)
    Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA) Chicago Society of Biblical Research (CSBR) Association of Chicago Theological Seminary (ACTS) International Association for Mission Studies (IAMS) Chicago Center for Global Mission (CCGM)
    Midwest Mission Studies Fellowship (MMSF)

    Holder of the Francis X. Ford, M.M., Chair of Catholic Missiology (2015-present)

    Rector of Divine Word Theologate (2017-2020)
    Associate Editor of the Journal of the International Association for Mission Studies (MS; 2013- present)
    Managing Editor of the Journal of Asian/North American Theological Educators (JANATE; 2014- 2020)
    Director of the Master of Divinity Program at CTU (2013-2016)
    Director of the Certificate in Asian Pastoral Theology and Ministry (2015-2019) Provincial Council Member of the Chicago Province (2011-2014; 2014-2017) Board of Director and Trustee Member of Divine Word College (2011-2021) Board of Director of the American Society of Missiology
    Convener and Coordinator of Biblical Studies and Mission (BISAM) in the International Association for Mission Studies (IAMS) (2012-present)
    Administrative Team (moderator and convener) of the Catholicity and Mission Topic Session in the Catholic Theological Society of America (2012-2015)
    Book Review Editor and sub-editor of New Theology Review (2008-2012) Chair of the Bible Department (“Biblical Languages and Literature,” 2008-2011) Director of the Certificate in Biblical Spirituality (2009-2011)
    Director of the Preaching Across Cultures Program (2009-2011) Biblical Apostolate Coordinator (1997-2001; 2005-2010)
    Director of Biblical Travel Programs (Greece, Turkey, Israel-Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt)

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