Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi explained

Jurisdiction:Metropolitan Archdiocese
Border:Catholic
Hanoi
Latin:Archidioecesis Metropolitae Hanoiensis
Local:Tổng Giáo Phận đô thành Hà Nội
Country:Vietnam
Province:Hà Nội
Area Km2:6,000
Population:8,885,360
Population As Of:2021
Catholics:333,200[1]
Catholics Percent:3.7
Parishes:189
Denomination:Catholic
Rite:Roman Rite
Established:
  • 9 September 1659; 364 years ago as Apostolic Vicariate
  • 24 November 1960; 63 years ago as Metropolitan Archdiocese
Cathedral:Saint Joseph Cathedral
Patron:Saint Joseph
Priests:194[2]
Bishop Title:Archbishop
Metro Archbishop:Joseph Vũ Văn Thiên
Emeritus Bishops:Joseph Ngô Quang Kiệt
Pierre Nguyễn Văn Nhơn
Lorence Chu Văn Minh
Website:Official website
Sui Iuris Church:Latin Church

The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Hanoi (Latin: Archidioecesis Metropolitae Hanoiensis, Vietnamese: Tổng giáo phận đô thành Hà Nội, French: Archidiocèse Metropolitain d'Hanoï) 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 present form was declared 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:

Cathedral

Saint Joseph Cathedral in Hanoi has been assigned as the cathedral of the archdiocese.[3] 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.[4]

The Archdiocese of Hanoi is a "sister" diocese of the Diocese of Orange County (USA) since 2008.[5]

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.[6]

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 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.[7] 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 officeStatusReference
1Bishop François Pallu, M.E.P.September 09, 1659 – 1679Transferred to Fujian[8]
2Bishop Jacques de Bourges, M.E.P.November 25, 1679 – August 09, 1714Died in office
3Bishop Edme Bélot, M.E.P.August 09, 1714 – January 02, 1717
4Bishop François-Gabriel Guisain, M.E.P.October 03, 1718 – November 17, 1723
5Bishop Louis Néez, M.E.P.October 08, 1738 – October 19, 1764
6Bishop Bertrand Reydellet, M.E.P.October 19, 1764 – July 27, 1780
7Bishop Jean Davoust, M.E.P.July 18, 1780 – August 17, 1789
8Bishop Jacques-Benjamin Longer, M.E.P.August 17, 1789 – February 08, 1831
9Bishop 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 office
11Bishop Charles-Hubert Jeantet, M.E.P.October 22, 1858 – July 24, 1866
12Bishop Joseph-Simon Theurel, M.E.P.July 24, 1866 – November 03, 1868
13Bishop Paul-François Puginier, M.E.P.November 03, 1868 – April 25, 1892
14Bishop 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 officeStatusReference
14Bishop Pierre-Jean-Marie Gendreau, M.E.P.December 03, 1924 – February 07, 1935Died in office[9]
15Bishop François Chaize, M.E.P.February 07, 1935 – February 22, 1949
16Bishop 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 officeStatusReference
1Cardinal Joseph-Marie Trịnh Như KhuêNovember 24, 1960 – November 27, 1978Died in office[10]
2Cardinal Joseph-Marie Trịnh Văn CănNovember 27, 1978 – May 18, 1990
Bishop Paul-Joseph Phạm Ðình TụngMay 18, 1990 – March 23, 1994Apostolic Administrator
3Cardinal Paul-Joseph Phạm Ðình TụngMarch 23, 1994 – February 19, 2005Resigned
Bishop Joseph Ngô Quang KiệtApril 15, 2003 – February 19, 2005Apostolic Administrator sede plena
4Archbishop Joseph Ngô Quang KiệtFebruary 19, 2005 – May 13, 2010Resigned
5Cardinal Pierre Nguyễn Văn NhơnMay 13, 2010 – November 17, 2018
6Bishop Joseph Vũ Văn ThiênNovember 17, 2018 – presentCurrent archbishop
Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Western Tonking (1696-1923)
Coadjutor Vicar ApostolicPeriod in officeReference
1Bishop Edme Bélot, M.E.P.October 20, 1696 – August 09, 1714[11]
2Bishop Louis-Marie Deveaux, M.E.P.February 15, 1745 – January 01, 1756
3Bishop Edmond Bennetat, M.E.P.July 16, 1758 – May 22, 1761
Bishop-elect Bertrand Reydellet, M.E.P.July 27, 1762 – October 19, 1764
4Bishop Jean Davoust, M.E.P.September 24, 1771 – July 18, 1780
Bishop-elect Jacques-Benjamin Longer, M.E.P.April 03, 1787 – August 17, 1789
5Bishop Charles Lamothe, M.E.P.February 05, 1793 – May 22, 1816
6Bishop Jean-Jacques Guérard, M.E.P.May 23, 1816 – June 18, 1823
7Bishop Jean-François Ollivier, M.E.P.April 06, 1824 – May 27, 1827
8Bishop 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, 1838
9Bishop Jean-Denis Gauthier, M.E.P.November 10, 1839 – March 27, 1846
10Bishop Charles-Hubert Jeantet, M.E.P.March 27, 1846 – October 22, 1858
11Bishop Joseph-Simon Theurel, M.E.P.1859 – July 24, 1866
12Bishop Paul-François Puginier, M.E.P.June 07, 1866 – November 03, 1868
13Bishop Pierre-Jean-Marie Gendreau, M.E.P.April 26, 1887 – April 25, 1892
14Bishop Jean-Pierre-Alexandre Marcou, M.E.P.April 18, 1895 – April 16, 1901
15Bishop Louis-Marie-Henri-Joseph Bigolet, M.E.P.June 27, 1911 – May 23, 1923
Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Hanoi (1925-1935)
Coadjutor Archbishops of Hanoi (1963-2010)
Coadjutor ArchbishopCoat of ArmsPeriod in officeReference
1Archbishop Joseph-Marie Trịnh Văn CănFebruary 05, 1963 – November 27, 1978[13]
2Archbishop Pierre Nguyễn Văn NhơnApril 22, 2010 – May 13, 2010
Auxiliary Bishops of Hanoi (1981-2019)
Auxiliary BishopCoat of ArmsPeriod in officeReference
1Bishop François Xavier Nguyễn Văn SangMarch 24, 1981 – December 03, 1990[14]
2Bishop Paul Lê Ðắc TrọngMarch 23, 1994 – January 21, 2006
3Bishop Laurent Chu Văn MinhOctober 15, 2008 – January 26, 2019

Other secular clergy who became bishops

References

21.0333°N 105.85°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: MA of HANOI updated statistics . gcatholic.
  2. Web site: MA of HANOI updated statistics . gcatholic.
  3. http://www.gcatholic.org/churches/data/cathVN.htm#chk GCatholic.org
  4. http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dhano.html Catholic Hierarchy Directory
  5. LA Times, August 2008
  6. Catholic youth accompany abandoned children, May 2006, in Asia News
  7. In Hanoi, stance of repression against Catholics seems to have won, Asianews, September 2008
  8. Web site: Archdiocese of Hanoi, Vietnam .
  9. Web site: Archdiocese of Hanoi, Vietnam .
  10. Web site: Archdiocese of Hanoi, Vietnam .
  11. Web site: Archdiocese of Hanoi, Vietnam .
  12. Web site: Archdiocese of Hanoi, Vietnam .
  13. Web site: Archdiocese of Hanoi, Vietnam .
  14. Web site: Archdiocese of Hanoi, Vietnam .