St. Joseph's Cathedral, Hanoi
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) is a Catholic church on Nhà Chung Street, in the Hoàn Kiếm District of
Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
,
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 ...
. It is a late 19th-century
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
(Neo-Gothic style) church that serves as the
cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi Archdiocese of Hanoi ( la, Archidioecesis Hanoiensis, vi, Tổng giáo phận Hà Nội, french: Archidiocèse d'Hanoï) is a Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Vietnam. It is one of the earliest in the history of the Catholic Church in ...
. The cathedral is named after
Joseph 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 ...
, the
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...
of Vietnam. Construction began in 1884, with an architectural style resembling the
Notre Dame de Paris 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 ...
. The church was one of the first structures built by the French colonial government in
French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
when it opened in December 1886. It is the oldest church in Hanoi. The cathedral conducts
Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
several times during the day. For Sunday evening mass at 6:00 PM, large crowds spill out into the streets. The prayer hymns are broadcast; Catholics who are unable to enter the cathedral congregate in the street and listen to hymns.


Geography

The cathedral is situated west of
Hoàn Kiếm Lake Hoàn Kiếm Lake ( vi, Hồ Hoàn Kiếm, chữ Hán: 湖還劍, meaning ''"Lake of the Returned Sword"'' or ''"Lake of the Restored Sword"''), also known as Sword Lake (''Hồ Gươm'') or Tả Vọng Lake (''Hồ Tả Vọng''), is a fresh w ...
, in a small square within the Old Quarter. Located at the end of the Nhà Thờ Street and the corner of Nhà Chung Street, an upscale market area with boutiques and silks popular with tourists, as well as restaurants and small apartment blocks. The cathedral is also the headquarters of Archdiocese of Vietnam; it controls over 480 churches and
chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
s and 113
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, and serves 400,000
Catholics 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 ...
. The cathedral's main gates are generally only opened during Mass; at other times, entry is allowed through a side door in the compound wall of the diocese, after which a bell can be rung to enter the cathedral proper.


History

In November 1873, acting in support of the French trader
Jean Dupuis Jean Dupuis (7 December 1829, Saint-Just-la-Pendue, France – 28 November 1912, Monaco) was a French trader and explorer. In Vietnamese royal records, he was referred as ''Đồ Phổ Nghĩa''. Biography Dupuis was educated at Tarare (Rhône dep ...
, French troops under the command of Lieutenant
Francis Garnier Marie Joseph François Garnier ( vi, Ngạc Nhi; 25 July 1839 – 21 December 1873) was a French officer, inspector of Indigenous Affairs of Cochinchina and explorer. He eventually became mission leader of the Mekong Exploration Commission in 19th ...
captured the
Hanoi Citadel Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
, before conquering the rest of the city. A decade passed before the colonists gained full control of Hanoi due to rebel insurgencies. Construction of the cathedral most likely started after this time and it was completed in December 1886, a year before the federation of
French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...
was established as part of its colonial empire. It was built by the French missionary and
apostolic vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...
of West Tonkin Paul-François Puginier, who obtained permission from the colonial French administration. It was built on the abandoned site of Báo Thiên Pagoda. This location was part of an "administrative center" of
Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain ''Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includi ...
before the French colonial era. In order to facilitate the construction of the church, the ruins of the pagoda - which was built when the city was founded by the 11th-century
Lý dynasty The Lý dynasty ( vi, Nhà Lý, , chữ Nôm: 茹李, chữ Hán: 李朝, Hán Việt: ''Lý triều'') was a Vietnamese dynasty that existed from 1009 to 1225. It was established by Lý Công Uẩn when he overthrew the Early Lê dynasty an ...
and had collapsed in 1542, never to be repaired - were cleared. The cathedral was consecrated on December 24, 1886. After the
Viet Minh The Việt Minh (; abbreviated from , chữ Nôm and Hán tự: ; french: Ligue pour l'indépendance du Viêt Nam, ) was a national independence coalition formed at Pác Bó by Hồ Chí Minh on 19 May 1941. Also known as the Việt Minh Fro ...
took control of
North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...
following the Geneva Accords in 1954, the Catholic Church suffered decades of persecution. Priests were arrested, and church property was seized and
expropriated Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
. St. Joseph's Cathedral was not spared; it was closed down until
Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...
of 1990, when
Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
was permitted to be celebrated there again. In 2008, protests related to religious symbols occurred at the lot next to the cathedral.


Architecture


Exterior

Built with stone slabs and in brick with concrete facing, the façade consists of two towers, square in shape, rising to a height of , with each tower fitted with five bells. The cathedral was built in a
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
(Neo-Gothic) style. The twin
bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
s have often drawn comparisons to the ones at
Notre Dame de Paris 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 ...
; the architects of St. Joseph's sought to emulate its Parisian counterpart. The exterior walls of the church are made of
granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
stone slabs. Over the years, the cathedral's exterior has become severely worn down due to heavy pollution. In response, the cathedral underwent major renovation works between July 2020 and May 2022, restoring its external appearance and structural integrity.


Interior

Windows are fitted with tall stained glass and have pointed arches. The cathedral's
stained glass windows Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
were produced in France before being transported to
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 ...
. The ceiling is rib-vaulted like those seen in medieval Europe. The
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
is weathered, while the sanctuary is made of polished gilt-trimmed wood, similar to that of
Phát Diệm Cathedral The Phát Diệm Cathedral ( vi, Nhà thờ chính tòa Phát Diệm, french: Cathédrale de Phat Diem) is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phát Diệm, located in Kim Sơn District of Ninh Bình Province in Vietnam. The architecture o ...
, and has architectural embellishments in the imperial
Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...
style. A statue of the Virgin Mary is kept in a palanquin according to local custom, which is seen to the left of the nave.


See also

*
Catholic Church in Vietnam The Catholic Church in Vietnam is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of bishops in Vietnam who are in communion with the pope in Rome. Vietnam has the fifth largest Catholic population in Asia, after the Philipp ...


References


External links


Official website of St. Joseph's Cathedral
(
Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...
)
Official website of the Archdiocese of Hanoi
(
Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...
) {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph's Cathedral, Hanoi Roman Catholic churches in Hanoi Roman Catholic churches completed in 1886 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Vietnam French colonial architecture in Vietnam Roman Catholic cathedrals in Vietnam Gothic Revival church buildings in Vietnam Conversion of non-Christian religious buildings and structures into churches