Peter Nguyễn Văn Khảm (October 2, 1952) is a Vietnamese prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. 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' Conference of Vietnam The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Vietnam (abbreviated as CBCV; also known as the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic bishops of Vietnam. Initially created in 1960s for South Vietnam, and officially re-fou ...

since 2016. Besides Vietnamese, he is also able to communicate in English, French, and Latin.

Early life and education

Peter Nguyễn Văn Khảm Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

was born on October 2, 1952 in Hà Đông,

Viet Nam 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 it ...

. He studied at seminaries in

Can Tho Can may refer to: Containers * Aluminum can * Drink can * Oil can * Steel and tin cans * Trash can * Petrol can * Metal can (disambiguation) Music * Can (band), West Germany, 1968 ** ''Can'' (album), 1979 * Can (South Korean band) Other * Ca ...

Long Xuyen Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensur ...

, and

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_ ...

from 1963 to 1979 before he was ordained to priesthood.

Ordination and ministry

Peter Khảm was ordained to the priesthood on August 30, 1980 for the

Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City The Archdiocese (Metropolitan) of Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon; vi, Tổng giáo phận Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, french: Archidiocèse d'Hô-Chi-Minh-Ville, la, Archidioecesis Metropolitanae Hochiminhopolitana) is a Roman Catholic ecclesi ...

, and then served as

parochial vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

at Ha Dong church (1980-1983). After three years of his first assignment, he was transferred to assume the position of parochial administrator of Ha Noi church. He served the parish until 1987, when he was transferred to

Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon ( vi, Vương cung thánh đường Chính tòa Đức Bà Sài Gòn or ; french: Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Saïgon), officially Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception ( vi, V� ...

and held this position until 1999. Since 1997, he has concurrently been a professor at Saint Joseph Seminary of Saigon until 1999. From 2000 to 2004, he furthered his studies at

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution ...

, and earned a doctorate in

pastoral theology Pastoral theology is the branch of practical theology concerned with the application of the study of religion in the context of regular church ministry. This approach to theology seeks to give practical expression to theology. Normally viewed as a ...

. After returning to Vietnam, he served as the Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Archdiocesan Pastoral Center.

Episcopal ministry

Auxiliary bishop of Ho Chi Minh City (2008-2014)

On October 15, 2008,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

appointed him the Auxiliary Bishop of

. On November 15, 2008, he was consecrated as bishop by

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

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 ...

. The co-consecrators were coadjutor bishop Stephen Tri Bửu Thiên of

Cần Thơ Cần Thơ, also written as Can Tho or Cantho (: , : ), is the 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 rur ...

and auxiliary bishop Joseph Vũ Duy Thống of

. He served as rector of Saint Joseph Seminary of Saigon from 2011-2013.

Bishop of Mỹ Tho (2014-present)

On July 26, 2014, he was appointed as Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Mỹ Tho by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

, and was installed on August 30, 2014. Within the

, he has served as General Secretary since 2016. His previous posts were Deputy General Secretary (2010-2016) and Chair of Committee on Social Communications (2010-2013). On July 13, 2016,

appointed bishop

as a member of the

Dicastery for Communication The Dicastery for Communication ( it, Dicastero per la Comunicazione) is a division (dicastery) of the Roman Curia with authority over all communication offices of the Holy See and the Vatican City State. Its various offices can be accessed thro ...

References

External links

*http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bngvk.html *http://cbcvietnam.org/Dioceses/my-tho-diocese.html

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nguyen, Pierre Van Kham 1952 births Living people 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Vietnam People from Hanoi