The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Hanoi (, , ) is a Catholic metropolitan archdiocese of Vietnam. It is one of the earliest in the history of the Catholic Church in Vietnam.
The creation of the diocese in its present form was declared on 24 November 1960. It covers an area of 7,000 km2 and has been led by Archbishop Joseph Vũ Văn Thiên since November 2018.
Suffragans The suffragan dioceses are: Diocese of Bắc Ninh Diocese of Bùi Chu Diocese of Hải Phòng Diocese of Thái Bình Diocese of Lạng Sơn & Cao Bằng Diocese of Hưng Hóa Diocese of Phát Diệm Diocese of Thanh Hóa Diocese of Vinh Diocese of Hà Tĩnh
Cathedral Saint Joseph Cathedral in Hanoi has been assigned as the cathedral of the archdiocese.GCatholic.org The cathedral was built in 1886 in neo-Gothic style. It holds several masses throughout the day and is usually crowded on weekends and religious holidays. Christmas holiday in 2004 attracted more than 4,000 visitors to the cathedral.
Current state By 2004, the Archdiocese of Hanoi had about 282,886 believers (5.3% of the population), 59 priests and 132 parishes.Catholic Hierarchy Directory
The Archdiocese of Hanoi is a "sister" diocese of the Diocese of Orange County (USA) since 2008.LA Times, August 2008
The young Catholics from the Archdiocese of Hanoi and Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City formed in 2006 an organization for helping children in rural and underdeveloped areas of Vietnam.Catholic youth accompany abandoned children, May 2006, in Asia News
Among the three major churches of Hanoi are Saint Joseph Cathedral, Cua Bac Church and Hàm Long Church.
In November 2006, the Cua Bac Catholic Church in Hanoi became the venue of joint worship service of the Vietnamese Catholics and Protestants with the participation of the United States president George W. Bush, who was on an official visit to Vietnam. Cua Bac Church (Northern Gate Church) has regular sermons and services in the English language and is often visited by expats and tourists.
In December 2007, thousands of Vietnamese Catholics marched in procession to the former apostolic nunciature in Hanoi (confiscated by the communist government in 1959) and prayed there twice aiming to return the property to the local Church. Despite their initial promise to return the nunciature building to the Catholic community, the authorities changed their position in September 2008 and decided to convert the building into a library and create a public park around it.In Hanoi, stance of repression against Catholics seems to have won, Asianews, September 2008 The protests of the Catholic community were not taken into account.
It is purported that Archbishop Emeritus Ngo Quang Kiet was pressured to retire by government officials. Archbishop Kiet denied this, saying his retirement was due to stress and insomnia. His retirement was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI on 10 May 2010 and he was succeeded by Coadjutor Archbishop Nguyên Van Nhon.
On 17 November 2018, 58-year-old Joseph Vũ Văn Thiên, Bishop of Hải Phòng, was appointed Archbishop of Hanoi by Pope Francis. Pope Francis accepted Cardinal Nguyễn Văn Nhơn's resignation on 17 November 2018.
Ordinaries
Vicars Apostolic of Western Tonking (1659-1924) Vicar apostolicPeriod in officeStatusReference1Bishop François Pallu, M.E.P.September 09, 1659 – 1679Transferred to Fujian2Bishop Jacques de Bourges, M.E.P.November 25, 1679 – August 09, 1714Died in office3Bishop Edme Bélot, M.E.P.August 09, 1714 – January 02, 17174Bishop François-Gabriel Guisain, M.E.P.October 03, 1718 – November 17, 17235Bishop Louis Néez, M.E.P.October 08, 1738 – October 19, 17646Bishop Bertrand Reydellet, M.E.P.October 19, 1764 – July 27, 17807Bishop Jean Davoust, M.E.P.July 18, 1780 – August 17, 17898Bishop Jacques-Benjamin Longer, M.E.P.August 17, 1789 – February 08, 18319Bishop Joseph-Marie-Pélagie Havard, M.E.P.February 08, 1831 – July 05, 1838–Bishop-elect Pierre-Rose-Ursule Dumoulin-Borie, M.E.P.July 05, 1838 – November 24, 1838Did not succeed, martyred.10Bishop Pierre-André Retord, M.E.P.November 24, 1838 – October 22, 1858Died in office11Bishop Charles-Hubert Jeantet, M.E.P.October 22, 1858 – July 24, 186612Bishop Joseph-Simon Theurel, M.E.P.July 24, 1866 – November 03, 186813Bishop Paul-François Puginier, M.E.P.November 03, 1868 – April 25, 189214Bishop Pierre-Jean-Marie Gendreau, M.E.P.April 25, 1892 – December 03, 1924Remained as Vicar Apostolic of Hà Nôi
Vicars Apostolic of Hà Nôi (1924-1960)
Vicar apostolicPeriod in officeStatusReference14Bishop Pierre-Jean-Marie Gendreau, M.E.P.December 03, 1924 – February 07, 1935Died in office15Bishop François Chaize, M.E.P.February 07, 1935 – February 22, 194916Bishop Joseph-Marie Trịnh Như Khuê April 18, 1950 – November 24, 1960Remained as Archbishop of Hà Nôi
Archbishops of Hanoi (1960-present) BishopCoat of ArmsPeriod in officeStatusReference1Cardinal Joseph-Marie Trịnh Như KhuêNovember 24, 1960 – November 27, 1978Died in office2Cardinal Joseph-Marie Trịnh Văn CănNovember 27, 1978 – May 18, 1990–Bishop Paul-Joseph Phạm Ðình TụngMay 18, 1990 – March 23, 1994Apostolic Administrator3Cardinal Paul-Joseph Phạm Ðình TụngMarch 23, 1994 – February 19, 2005Resigned–Bishop Joseph Ngô Quang KiệtApril 15, 2003 – February 19, 2005Apostolic Administrator sede plena4Archbishop Joseph Ngô Quang KiệtFebruary 19, 2005 – May 13, 2010Resigned5Cardinal Pierre Nguyễn Văn NhơnMay 13, 2010 – November 17, 20186Bishop Joseph Vũ Văn ThiênNovember 17, 2018 – presentCurrent archbishop
Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Western Tonking (1696-1923) Coadjutor Vicar ApostolicPeriod in officeReference1Bishop Edme Bélot, M.E.P.October 20, 1696 – August 09, 17142Bishop Louis-Marie Deveaux, M.E.P.February 15, 1745 – January 01, 17563Bishop Edmond Bennetat, M.E.P.July 16, 1758 – May 22, 1761–Bishop-elect Bertrand Reydellet, M.E.P.July 27, 1762 – October 19, 17644Bishop Jean Davoust, M.E.P.September 24, 1771 – July 18, 1780–Bishop-elect Jacques-Benjamin Longer, M.E.P.April 03, 1787 – August 17, 17895Bishop Charles Lamothe, M.E.P.February 05, 1793 – May 22, 18166Bishop Jean-Jacques Guérard, M.E.P.May 23, 1816 – June 18, 18237Bishop Jean-François Ollivier, M.E.P.April 06, 1824 – May 27, 18278Bishop Joseph-Marie-Pélagie Havard, M.E.P.March 21, 1828 – February 08, 1831–Fr. Pierre-Rose-Ursule Dumoulin-Borie, M.E.P.July 31, 1832 – July 05, 18389Bishop Jean-Denis Gauthier, M.E.P.November 10, 1839 – March 27, 184610Bishop Charles-Hubert Jeantet, M.E.P.March 27, 1846 – October 22, 185811Bishop Joseph-Simon Theurel, M.E.P.1859 – July 24, 186612Bishop Paul-François Puginier, M.E.P.June 07, 1866 – November 03, 186813Bishop Pierre-Jean-Marie Gendreau, M.E.P.April 26, 1887 – April 25, 189214Bishop Jean-Pierre-Alexandre Marcou, M.E.P.April 18, 1895 – April 16, 190115Bishop Louis-Marie-Henri-Joseph Bigolet, M.E.P.June 27, 1911 – May 23, 1923
Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Hanoi (1925-1935) Coadjutor Vicar ApostolicPeriod in officeReference16Bishop François Chaize, M.E.P.May 12, 1925 – February 07, 1935
Coadjutor Archbishops of Hanoi (1963-2010) Coadjutor ArchbishopCoat of ArmsPeriod in officeReference1Archbishop Joseph-Marie Trịnh Văn CănFebruary 05, 1963 – November 27, 19782Archbishop Pierre Nguyễn Văn NhơnApril 22, 2010 – May 13, 2010
Auxiliary Bishops of Hanoi (1981-present) Auxiliary BishopCoat of ArmsPeriod in officeReference1Bishop François Xavier Nguyễn Văn SangMarch 24, 1981 – December 03, 19902Bishop Paul Lê Ðắc TrọngMarch 23, 1994 – January 21, 20063Bishop Laurent Chu Văn MinhOctober 15, 2008 – January 26, 20194Bishop Joseph Vũ Công ViệnOctober 26, 2024 – present
Other secular clergy who became bishops Paul Joseph Phạm Đình Tụng, appointed Bishop of Bắc Ninh in 1963 and later appointed Apostolic Administrator and Archbishop here Pierre Nguyễn Huy Mai (priest here, 1941-1954), appointed Bishop of Ban Mê Thuột in 1967 Dominique Nguyễn Văn Lãng (priest here, 1951-1954), appointed Bishop of Xuân Lộc in 1974 Joseph Marie Nguyễn Tùng Cương, appointed Bishop of Hải Phòng in 1979 Joseph Trịnh Chính Trực (priest here until 1954), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Ban Mê Thuột in 1981 and later succeeded Joseph Nguyễn Văn Yến, appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Phát Diệm in 1988 and later succeeded Joseph Ðặng Ðức Ngân, appointed Bishop of Lạng Sơn and Cao Bằng in 2007, later Bishop of Ðà Nẵng and Coadjutor Archbishop of Huế
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