Philippe Nguyễn Kim Điền was a Vietnamese prelate. He was Archbishop of Huế during the country's period of late 20th-Century wars and eventual reunification.

Biography

Philippe Nguyễn Kim Điền was born on March 13, 1921, in Long Đức,

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. After being ordained a priest in 1947 and serving as a professor and later rector of the seminary, he joined the

Little Brothers of Jesus The Little Brothers of Jesus (; ; abbreviated PFJ) is a male religious congregation within the Catholic Church of pontifical right founded on the example of Charles de Foucauld. Founded in 1933 in France, the congregation first established its ...

. After joining the order for sometime, Dien worked as a street cleaner and a rag picker in Saigon. He was appointed Bishop of

Cần Thơ Cần Thơ () is the List of cities in Vietnam, fourth-largest city in Vietnam, and the largest city along the Mekong Delta region in Vietnam. It is noted for its floating markets, rice paper-making village, and picturesque rural canals. It has ...

in 1960 at the recommendation of the previous bishop and his friend, Paul Nguyễn Văn Bình, who was appointed Archbishop of

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

. He later became the Apostolic Administrator of

Huế Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...

and Titular Archbishop of Pario in 1964 after the

1963 South Vietnamese coup d'état In November 1963, Leaders of South Vietnam, President Ngô Đình Diệm and the Personalist Labor Revolutionary Party of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) were deposed by a group of CIA-backed Army of the Republic of Vietnam officers who ...

left Archbishop Pierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục unable to return from the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

in Rome. He ultimately succeeded Thục after being appointed Archbishop of Huế in 1968. He served as a Council Father during the

on sessions one though four. During his tenure as archbishop, he kept the Roman Catholic community together facing government efforts to control the church after Vietnam's reunification. He kept the local community strong amid seminary closures and the forced “reeducation” of many priests. The Vietnamese government formed the “Committee for the Solidarity of Patriotic Vietnamese Catholics” in 1983, attempting to separate the Vietnamese Roman Catholic church from Rome's papal authority. Điền was opposed to this committee and was placed under house arrest in 1984 until his death in 1988. During his house arrest, he continued to circulate letters among parishioners “and the authorities apparently made no serious attempt to replace him”. Priests and nuns were reported to have been arrested for distributing his statements clandestinely in Vietnam. These were also smuggled abroad. Điền was highly regarded in Vietnam. He was never a fervent anti-communist; he was a "priest of the people" who embraced the social reforms that came as a result of Vatican II. He was, however, critical of the government's policies and denounced the restrictions on Mass and other religious ceremonies, the anti-Catholic message children received in school, and the fact that Catholics were discriminated against when seeking employment. At one point during his tenure, he was placed under surveillance and two priests under his authority were arrested. Being under house arrest prevented him from attending the 1986 Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; this prohibition would merit a formal protest from cardinals and bishops from 40 countries. Điền died of an illness in hospital in

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

on June 8, 1988. His tomb is located to the left inside the

Phủ Cam Cathedral Phủ Cam Cathedral () is a Latin Catholic cathedral in Huế, Vietnam, and seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Huế, Archdiocese of Huế. Built in almost 40 years (1963—2000) at the site where a Catholic church has existed since the 17t ...

. Điền was a priest for 40.8 years and a bishop for 27.3 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Philippe, Kim Dien 1921 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Vietnam People from Trà Vinh province Vietnamese Roman Catholic bishops Vietnamese Roman Catholic archbishops