Fr. John Lan Tran, S.J., was born and raised in Bao Loc, Vietnam. He migrated to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1983. He graduated from Rockhurst College, in 1991, with a Bachelors in Physics and Computer Science. After college, he worked for three years as an environmental scientist and another three years as a computer programmer.

Fr. John entered the Society of Jesus in 1997 as a member of the Missouri Province. In the next eleven years, as he went through the formation process of the Jesuits.  During this time, Fr. John was also leading retreats geared towards Vietnamese-American youth in the U.S.  For several summers, he also led retreats for religious men and women in Vietnam.

Academically, Fr. John obtained a Masters of Art in Social Philosophy from Loyola University in Chicago in 2002, a Masters of Divinity from Boston College in 2008, and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L., an ecclesiastical degree), focusing in Pauline Theology, in 2009. Fr. John was ordained a priest in 2008 at College Church in St. Louis, Missouri.

In 2009, Fr. John was assigned to work part-time in campus ministry, and to teach computer science classes part-time at St. Louis University High School (SLUH).  A year later, he was assigned to the Director of Campus Ministry position at SLUH.  In this capacity, he directed retreats, helped with service programs, and to facilitate student involvement and leadership in different aspects of campus ministry. 

In 2014, Fr. John was reassigned to St. John's Junior College in Belize, where he taught classes in Mathematics and Theology.  During this time, he was also working as Director of Mission and Identity. In November 2016, Fr. John returned to the U.S. to work as a retreat director at Montserrat Retreat House.