Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi

"Archdiocese (Metropolitan) of Hanoi" (Latin, "Archidioecesis Hanoiensis") is a Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vietnam. It is one of the earliest in the history of Roman Catholicism in Vietnam.

The creation of the diocese in present form was decalared November 24, 1960. It covers an area of 7,000 km² and headed by Archbishop Joseph Ngô Quang Kiêt (from 2005), who was previously an apostolic administrator in Hanoi.

The suffragan dioceses are:
* Diocese of Bac Ninh
* Diocese of Bùi Chu
* Diocese of Hai Phòng
* Diocese of Hung Hoa
* Diocese of Lang Son and Cao Bang
* Diocese of Phát Diêm
* Diocese of Thai Binh
* Diocese of Thanh Hóa
* Diocese of Vinh.

Saint Joseph's Cathedral in Hanoi has been assigned as the Cathedral of the Archdiocese. [ [http://www.gcatholic.com/churches/data/cathVN.htm#chk Giga Catholic Information] ] The Cathedral was built in 1886 in neo-Gothic style. It holds several masses throughout the day and is usually crowded on weekends and religious holidays. Christmas holiday in 2004 attracted more than 4,000 visitors to the Cathedral. [ [http://english.vietnamnet.vn/lifestyle/2005/12/525664/ Christmas in full swing at Hanoi churches, Vietnam Net Bridge] ]

By 2004, Archdiocese of Hanoi had about 282,886 believers (5.3% of the population), 59 priests and 132 parishes. [ [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dhano.html Catholic Hierarchy Directory] ]

The Archdiocese of Hanoi is a "sister" diocese of Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County (USA) since 2008 [ [http://www.latimes.com/features/religion/la-me-archbishop24-2008aug24,0,4770456.story LA Times, August, 2008] ] .

The young catholics from the Archdiocese of Hanoi and Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh city formed in 2006 an organization for helping children in rural and underdeveloped areas of Vietnam. [ [http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=6187 Catholic youth accompany abandoned children, May 2006, in Asia News] ]

In November, 2006, the Cua Bac Catholic Church [ [http://wgrass.media.osaka-cu.ac.jp/foss4g/hanoihistoricalgis/150frencharchitectures/northen-gate-church-nha-tho-cua-bac Northern Gate Church in Osaka City University Web Portal] ] in Hanoi became the venue of joint worship service of the Vietnamese catholics and protestants with participation of the United States President George W. Bush, who was on an official visit to Vietnam. [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/19/asia/AS_GEN_APEC_Bush_Church.php International Herald Tribune, 2006] ] Cua Bac Church (Northern Gate Church) has regular sermons and services in English language and is often visited by expats and tourists. [ [http://english.vietnamnet.vn/lifestyle/2005/12/525664/ Christmas in full swing at Hanoi churches, Vietnam Net Bridge] ]

In December 2007, thousands of Vietnamese catholics marched in procession to the former apostolic nunciature in Hanoi (confiscated by the communist government in 1959) and prayed there twice aiming to return the property to the local Church [ [http://www.ucanews.com/ UCA News] ] . Despite their initial promise to return the nunciature building to Roman Catholic community, the authorities changed their position in September 2008 and decided to demolish the building to create a public park [ [http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13270&size= In Hanoi, stance of repression against Catholics seems to have won, Asianews] ] . The protests of Catholic community were not taken into account.

References

External links

* [http://www.giaophanhanoi.vn/ Official web-site of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi]