The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Saigon ( vi, Tổng giáo phận đô thành Sài Gòn, la, Archidioecesis Metropolitanae Saigonensis) or ''Archdiocesse of Ho Chi Minh City'' ( vi, Tổng giáo phận Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, la, Archidioecesis Hochiminhopolitana) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

ecclesiastical territory in the south of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. By far the largest diocese in the country by population of people and second in the number of Catholics, yet like most big cities it only covers a small area of . The suffragan dioceses are: * Diocese of Bà Rịa * Diocese of Cần Thơ * Diocese of Đà Lạt * Diocese of Long Xuyên * Diocese of Mỹ Tho * Diocese of Phan Thiết * Diocese of Phú Cường * Diocese of Vĩnh Long * Diocese of Xuân Lộc. Immaculate Conception Cathedral Basilica (''Vương cung thánh đường Chính tòa Đức Mẹ Vô nhiễm Nguyên tội - Nhà thờ Đức Bà Sài Gòn'') in

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

has been assigned as the cathedral of the archdiocese. There are also Saint Francis Xavier Church, Jeanne d'Arc Church, Saint Joseph Church, Sacred Heart Church, Saint Philip Church, Tân Định Church. By 2004, the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City had about 602,478 believers (11.0% of the population), 519

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

s and 195

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es. The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh city is a "sister" diocese of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles The Archdiocese of Los Angeles ( la, Archidiœcesis Angelorum in California, es, Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in th ...

(United States) since 2008. The archdiocese ministers often take part in international exchanges and contacts, though with special permission of the Vietnamese authorities. The young Catholics from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh city and

Archdiocese of Hanoi Archdiocese of Hanoi ( la, Archidioecesis Hanoiensis, vi, Tổng giáo phận Hà Nội, french: Archidiocèse d'Hanoï) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Vietnam. It is one of the earliest in the history of the C ...

formed in 2006 an organization for helping children in rural and underdeveloped areas of Vietnam. The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City regularly organizes special mass events including the Youth Day in December 2007, which was attended by more than 7 000 young people, who take part in volunteer and charitable activities, and two prayer vigils "God is rich in compassion" in March 2008 with the participation of several thousand faithful. There is a center of social work organized by the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh city, which consists of priests, laypeople and members of civil groups. The center is occupied with three main problems: helping

street children Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids or street child; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policym ...

, activities to reduce HIV/AIDS level and help its victims, social and psychological work with prostitutes to get them off the streets.

Name

Since its establishment in 1844, this archdiocese has gone through various names: Vicariate Apostolic of West Tonkin (1844 - 1924), Vicariate Apostolic of Saigon (1924 - 1960), and then the Archdiocese of Saigon (from 1960). Nowadays, this archdiocese is called the Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City, after the administrative name of the city, and in its communications, the Vatican uses this name. In reality, the name Archdiocese of Saigon is still used in the documents of the Catholic Church in Vietnam. Additionally, sometimes the name used is the Archdiocese of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City.

Cathedral

Notre Dame Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

in Ho Chi Minh City is considered to be one of the main city attractions and one of the most beautiful buildings in all Vietnam. It was built from 1877 to 1880 by the French

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

J. Bourad, has a

Neo-Romanesque Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

with twin towers and a statue of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

in the center front.

Ordinaries

Apostolic Vicars of Western Cochin

Dominique Lefèbvre Dominique Lefèbvre (1810–1865) was a French missionary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society, Bishop of Isauropolis ''in partibus infidelium'', and Vicar Apostolic in Vietnam during the 19th century. His two terms of imprisonment in Vietnam ...

, MEP (11 March 1844 – 28 August 1864) *

Jean-Claude Miche Jean-Claude Miche (9 August 1805 – 1 December 1873) was a French missionary and bishop. He played an instrumental role in the establishment of the French Protectorate of Cambodia. Ordained in 1830, Miche entered the seminary of the Paris Fore ...

, MEP (9 September 1864 – 1 December 1873) * Isidore-François-Joseph Colombert, MEP (1 December 1873 – 31 December 1894) *

Jean-Marie Dépierre Jean-Marie is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Jean-Marie Abgrall (born 1950), a French psychiatrist, criminologist, specialist in forensic medicine, cult expert, and graduate in criminal law * Jean-Marie C ...

, MEP (12 April 1895 – 17 October 1898) * Lucien-Emile Mossard, MEP (11 February 1899 – 12 February 1920) * Victor-Charles Quinton, MEP (11 February 1920 – 4 October 1924)

Apostolic Vicars of Sài Gòn

* Isidore-Marie-Joseph Dumortier, MEP (17 December 1925 – 16 February 1940) * Jean Cassaigne, MEP (20 February 1941 – 20 September 1955) * Simon Hòa Nguyễn Văn Hiền (20 September 1955 – 24 November 1960)

Archbishops of Ho Chi Minh City

From 1960 to 1976, the archbishop was titled ''Archbishop of Saigon''. #

Paul Nguyễn Văn Bình Paul Nguyễn Văn Bình (September 1, 1910 – July 1, 1995) was a Vietnamese prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh city, Archbishop of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) from 1960 until his death ...

(24 November 1960 – 1 July 1995) #* François-Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận (Coadjutor Archbishop: 24 April 1975 - 24 November 1994) #* Nicolas Huỳnh Văn Nghi (Apostolic administrator: 8 August 1993 – 1 March 1998) #

Jean-Baptiste Phạm Minh Mẫn Jean-Baptiste is a male French name, originating with Saint John the Baptist, and sometimes shortened to Baptiste. The name may refer to any of the following: Persons * Charles XIV John of Sweden, born Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, was King ...

(1 March 1998 – 22 March 2014) (made Cardinal in 2003) #

Paul Bùi Văn Đọc Archbishop Paul Bùi Văn Đọc (11 November 1944 – 6 March 2018) was a Vietnamese prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City from 2014 to 2018 and the President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Vi ...

(22 March 2014 – 6 March 2018) #*

Joseph Đỗ Mạnh Hùng Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

(Apostolic administrator: 8 March 2018 – 19 October 2019) #

Joseph Nguyễn Năng Joseph Nguyễn Năng (born 1953) is a Vietnamese prelate of the Catholic Church who has been a bishop since 2009 and the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City since October 2019. Since 2022, he has been a ...

(19 October 2019 – )

Auxiliary Bishops

# François-Xavier Trần Thanh Khâm (14 October 1965 – 2 October 1976) # Nicolas Huỳnh Văn Nghi (1 July 1974 – 19 March 1975), appointed Apostolic Administrator and then Bishop of Phan Thiết (later appointed Apostolic Administrator here) # Aloisius Phạm Văn Nẫm (3 December 1977 – 30 September 1999) # Joseph Vũ Duy Thống (4 July 2001 – 25 July 2009), appointed Bishop of Phan Thiết #

Pierre Nguyễn Văn Khảm Peter Nguyễn Văn Khảm (October 2, 1952) is a Vietnamese prelate of the Catholic Church. He serves as fourth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mỹ Tho since July 30, 2014 and the Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops' Conferenc ...

(15 October 2008 – 26 July 2014), appointed Bishop of Mỹ Tho #

(25 June 2016 – 3 December 2019), was concurrently Apostolic Administrator here and later appointed as Bishop of Phan Thiết #

Louis Nguyễn Anh Tuấn Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS Louis, HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also

Derived or associated te ...

(25 August 2017 – 25 March 2023), was concurrently appointed Apostolic Administrator and later Bishop of Diocese of Hà Tĩnh # Joseph Bùi Công Trác (1 November 2022 – present)

References

External links

* * {{authority control

Ho Chi Minh City