Remembering Fr. Linh Bui

In 2020 Father Linh Bui was serving as chaplain at Cristo Rey OKC Catholic High School. Below is a section of a story titled “Chaplains help guide Catholic high school students.” The story was originally published in the Sept. 27, 2020, issue of the Sooner Catholic.

After the story are comments submitted about Father Bui during Priest Appreciation Week in 2024.

Chaplains help guide Catholic high school students

By K.S. McNutt
Sooner Catholic

The chaplains at Oklahoma City’s three Catholic high schools come from different backgrounds, but they share a passion for encouraging young people to grow in faith.

Father Linh Bui has been the chaplain at Cristo Rey Oklahoma City Catholic High School since it opened in 2018. Born in Vietnam, he came to the United States with his family in 1999 as an adult.

Cristo Rey OKC Catholic High School
Father Linh is beginning his third year as a chaplain at Cristo Rey. He has learned how important it is to be there and listen to students.

“I don’t force them to have faith or to love. I just encourage them. I give them the choice what to do to follow God’s way,” Father Linh said.

He shares with students the mistakes he made when he was younger and how he “ran away from the Church.” He also tells them about the grace he received and the joy and peace he received when he returned.

Father Linh hopes admitting his mistakes helps students feel more comfortable coming to Confession.

His journey to the priesthood was long and interrupted by politics and secular concerns. He was not permitted to enter the seminary in Vietnam because his family supported the United States, but he would go there to learn and would flee whenever the Communists came.

After his family immigrated to California, he dropped the idea of being a priest because of the priest abuse scandal and the new culture he was experiencing.

But, the tug toward priesthood didn’t go away and he relented.

“I though I would give up many things to make God happy, but God made me happy,” Father Linh said.


7 things to know about high school chaplains

Father Linh Bui, chaplain at Cristo Rey OKC Catholic High School 

Q: What is your confirmation name?

Fr. Linh: Paul (in Vietnam the name is given at Baptism, not Confirmation)

Q: What was your career choice as a child?

Fr. Linh: Priest

Q: At what age did you first think about becoming a priest?

Fr. Linh: As a child, my mother took me to Mass every day. I really wanted to be a priest. He looked good. He had good food and a nice chasuble.

Q: What was your favorite band or kind of music in high school?

Fr. Linh: Traditional Vietnam folk music

Q: What is your favorite junk food?

Fr. Linh: I don’t eat junk food much. I love bananas, but I couldn’t get them often in Vietnam. When we came here, I ate them a lot. A doctor said, “Your potassium is so high!”

Q: What skill or ability do you have?

Fr. Linh: I have skills for sports – volleyball, soccer, ping pong, swimming, fishing. And, I can play the drum set.

Q: How would your parents describe you?

Fr. Linh: Caring and obedient


K.S. McNutt is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
Photo: (Above) Fr. Linh Bui celebrated Mass with Archbishop Coakley in 2021 at Cristo Rey OKC Catholic High School. Photo Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

Fr. Linh Bui celebrated Mass with Archbishop Coakley in January 2020 at Cristo Rey OKC Catholic High School. Photo provided.

Read the full story HERE and the Q&A HERE.


Priest Appreciation Week

In 2024, the Sooner Catholic celebrated Priesthood Sunday and Priest Appreciation Week by asking people “How has a priest helped you?” Below are the comments received about Father Linh Bui.  

How has a priest helped you?

Father Linh Bui
“Father Linh took time to talk to me and we shared stories about our respective cultures. He always expressed how happy it made him feel whenever he saw me up in the choir loft and how amazing the choir sounded. He demonstrated to me that no matter where you come from, we are one. Truly brothers and sisters in Christ.”
Phillipa Mandewo
Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Oklahoma City

Phillipa Mandewo, Fr. Linh Bui and Cecilia Mandewo. Photo provided.


Father Linh Bui
"In just a few months of having Father Linh as our new pastor, he has focused so much on the Eucharist that he has helped our family fall in love with it more. Is it possible to fall in love with Jesus even more? Yes, it is because we are experiencing it. Thank you, Father Linh for being a blessing in our lives. Thank you for being part of the reason our family is going on the pilgrimage in July. May God continue to bless him, so he may continue to bless us."
The Oregon family 
Saint Ann Catholic Church in Elgin

Fr. Linh Bui and Martha Oregon. Photo provided.

Read the full story HERE.