Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi

Archdiocese (Metropolitan) of Hanoi (Latin: Archidioecesis Hanoiensis, Vietnamese: Tổng giáo phận Hà Nội, French: Archidiocèse d'Hanoï) is a Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vietnam. It is one of the earliest in the history of Roman Catholicism in Vietnam.

Archdiocese of Hanoi

Archidioecesis Hanoiensis

Tổng Giáo Phận Hà Nội
Cathedral of St. Joseph, Hanoi
Location
CountryVietnam
Ecclesiastical provinceProvince of Hanoi
Statistics
Area6,000 km2 (2,300 sq mi)
Population
- Total
- Catholics (including non-members)		(as of 2016)
8,651,000
315,764 (3.7%)
Information
DenominationRoman Catholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
CathedralSaint Joseph Cathedral (Hanoi)
Patron saintSaint Joseph
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
Metropolitan ArchbishopJoseph Vũ Văn Thiên
Bishops emeritus Pierre Nguyễn Văn Nhơn

Archbishop Emeritus (2010-2018) Ngo Quang Kiet Archbishop Emeritus (2005-2010)

Lorence Chu Văn Minh Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus (2008-2019)
Website
Official website

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.[1] 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, Archdiocese of Hanoi had about 282,886 believers (5.3% of the population), 59 priests and 132 parishes.[2]

The Archdiocese of Hanoi is a "sister" diocese of Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County (USA) since 2008.[3]

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.[4]

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 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 Roman Catholic community, the authorities changed their position in September 2008 and decided to demolish the building to create a public park.[5] The protests of 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

Vicariate Apostolic of Tonking

Vicariate Apostolic of Western Tonking

Name changed 24 July 1678[6]

  • Jacques de Bourges (25 Nov 1679 Appointed - 9 August 1714 Died)
  • Edme Bélot (9 Aug 1714 Succeeded - 2 January 1717 Died)
  • François-Gabriel Guisain (3 Dec 1718 Appointed - 17 November 1723 Died)
  • Louis Néez (8 Oct 1738 Appointed - 19 October 1764 Died)
  • Bertrand Reydellet (19 Oct 1764 Succeeded - 27 July 1780 Died)
  • Jean Davoust (18 Jul 1780 Succeeded - 17 August 1789 Died)
  • Jacques-Benjamin Longer (17 Aug 1789 Succeeded - 8 February 1831 Died)
  • Joseph-Marie-Pélagie Havard (8 Feb 1831 Succeeded - 5 July 1838 Died)
  • Pierre Dumoulin-Borie (30 Jan 1836 Appointed - 24 November 1838 Died)
  • Pierre-André Retord (24 Nov 1838 Appointed - 22 October 1858 Died)
  • Charles-Hubert Jeantet (22 Oct 1858 Succeeded - 24 July 1866 Died)
  • Joseph-Simon Theurel (24 Jul 1866 Succeeded - 3 November 1868 Died)
  • Paul-François Puginier (3 Nov 1868 Succeeded - 25 April 1892 Died)
  • Pierre-Jean-Marie Gendreau (25 Apr 1892 Succeeded - 3 December 1924)

Vicariate Apostolic of Hà Nôi

Name changed 3 December 1924[6]

  • Pierre-Jean-Marie Gendreau (3 December 1924 - 7 February 1935 Died)
  • François Chaize (7 Feb 1935 Succeeded - 23 February 1949 Died)
  • Cardinal Joseph-Marie Trịnh Như Khuê (18 Apr 1950 Appointed Vicar Apostolic - 24 November 1960)

Archdiocese of Hanoi

Elevated 24 November 1960[6]

References
Catholic Tonkinese (Joseph Lai) with his wife (1885)
  1. GCatholic.org
  2. Catholic Hierarchy Directory
  3. LA Times, August 2008
  4. Catholic youth accompany abandoned children, May 2006, in Asia News
  5. In Hanoi, stance of repression against Catholics seems to have won, Asianews, September 2008
  6. Catholic Hierarchy: "Archdiocese of Hà Nôi" retrieved 8 November 2015

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