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 ecclesiastical territory in the south of Vietnam. 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 ). Even though it is in District 3, the parish shares its name with neighbouring District 1's Tân Định Ward. It was built during the French colonial period in the 1870s and completed on 16 December 1876, when Vietnam was part of French Indoch ...

. By 2004, the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City had about 602,478 believers (11.0% of the population), 519 priests and 195 parishes. The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh city is a "sister" diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles (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 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 J. Bourad, has a Neo-Romanesque façade with twin towers and a statue of the Virgin Mary in the center front.

Ordinaries

Apostolic Vicars of Western Cochin

* Dominique Lefèbvre,

MEP MEP may refer to: Organisations and politics * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, a political party in Sri Lanka * Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (1956), a former political alliance in Sri Lanka * Maison européenne de la photographie, a photography centre ...

(11 March 1844 – 28 August 1864) * Jean-Claude Miche,

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

(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 ...

(12 April 1895 – 17 October 1898) * Lucien-Emile Mossard,

(11 February 1899 – 12 February 1920) * Victor-Charles Quinton,

(11 February 1920 – 4 October 1924)

Apostolic Vicars of Sài Gòn

* Isidore-Marie-Joseph Dumortier,

(17 December 1925 – 16 February 1940) *

Jean Cassaigne Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

(20 February 1941 – 20 September 1955) *

Simon Hòa Nguyễn Văn Hiền Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

(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 François-Xavier is a French masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * François-Xavier Archambault (1841–1893), a lawyer and political figure in Quebec * François-Xavier Audouin (1765–1837), a French clergyman and politi ...

(Coadjutor Archbishop: 24 April 1975 - 24 November 1994) #*

Nicolas Huỳnh Văn Nghi Nicolas Huỳnh Văn Nghi (1 May 1927 – 6 May 2015) was a Vietnamese Catholic prelate. He was Bishop of Phan Thiết from 1974 to 2005. Biography Born in Vĩnh Hội, Saigon, he was sent to the Issy-les-Moulineaux Seminary in France to com ...

(Apostolic administrator: 8 August 1993 – 1 March 1998) # Jean-Baptiste Phạm Minh Mẫn (1 March 1998 – 22 March 2014) (made Cardinal in 2003) # Paul Bùi Văn Đọc (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 François-Xavier is a French masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * François-Xavier Archambault (1841–1893), a lawyer and political figure in Quebec * François-Xavier Audouin (1765–1837), a French clergyman and polit ...

(14 October 1965 – 2 October 1976) #

(1 July 1974 – 19 March 1975), appointed Apostolic Administrator and then Bishop of Phan Thiết (later appointed Apostolic Administrator here) #

Aloisius Phạm Văn Nẫm Aloysius ( ) is a given name. Etymology It is a Latinisation of the names Alois, Louis, Lewis, Luis, Luigi, Ludwig, and other cognates (traditionally in Medieval Latin as ''Ludovicus'' or ''Chlodovechus''), ultimately from Frankish ''*Hl� ...

(3 December 1977 – 30 September 1999) #

Joseph Vũ Duy Thống Joseph Vũ Duy Thống (July 2, 1952 – March 1, 2017) was a Vietnamese prelate, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phan Thiet from July 2009 to his death and the Head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Vietnam, Episcopal Committee on Cu ...

(4 July 2001 – 25 July 2009), appointed Bishop of Phan Thiết # Pierre Nguyễn Văn Khảm (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 Joseph Bùi Công Trác (Vietnamese: Giuse Bùi Công Trác) is a Vietnamese prelate. He was ordained a priest in 1999 and was appointed Rector of Saint Joseph Major Seminary of Sài Gòn by Archbishop Paul Bùi Văn Đọc in 2016 and remains ...

(1 November 2022 – present)

References

External links

* * {{authority control

Ho Chi Minh City