Vatican appoints new bishop to Vietnam diocese

Father Dominic Hoang Minh Tien (left) concelebrates a Mass with other bishops on Dec. 8. (Photo courtesy of giaophanhunghoa.org)

Pope Francis has named a priest who waited years before obtaining a government permit for his priestly ordination as bishop of Vietnam’s largest diocese. On Dec. 18, Singapore-based Archbishop Marek Zalewski, non-resident representative of the Holy See to Vietnam, announced that Pope Francis had named Father Dominic Hoang Minh Tien, who serves as parish priest of Son Loc Cathedral and representative of the apostolic administrator of Hung Hoa Diocese, as residential bishop of the diocese.

Father Joseph Dao Nguyen Vu, head of the Office of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Vietnam, made the announcement on the same day. Mary Tran Thi Thuy, a catechist from Quan Hao Parish, said the appointment is excellent news expected by local people.

“We are deeply indebted to the Holy See for naming a bishop who is young and talented enough and interested in evangelization,” Thuy, 55, said.

In the 1990s, she said, 13 seminarians including Father Tien spent their summer holidays teaching catechism, music and other subjects at parishes. They were the diocese’s first seminarians after decades of religious restrictions. 

Bishop-elect Tien, who reaches 53 on Jan. 7, will be the youngest prelate among Vietnam’s bishops

They were secretly sent to take courses in philosophy and theology from 1992 to 1998 in Ho Chi Minh City. They were sponsored by priests and Catholics who had moved to the city during the exodus in 1954.

They were not approved by government authorities after they finished the courses. They had to serve at local parishes and the bishop’s house for seven years before they were allowed to join a one-year refresher course at Stella Maris Major Seminary in Nha Trang in 2005.

Tien and 10 other seminarians were ordained priests for Hung Hoa Diocese in the following year. Two others had returned to secular life.

Father Tien, who is fluent in English, accompanied local bishops to pay pastoral visits to parishes in remote areas and served as an interpreter during visits made by Vatican envoys. 

The bishop-elect experienced extreme hardships when he was pursuing his vocation, so we hope he will sympathize with and love the poor, and pay much attention to evangelization work in the country’s largest diocese in terms of territory,” Thuy said.

Bishop-elect Tien, who reaches 53 on Jan. 7, will be the youngest prelate among Vietnam’s bishops.

He will be the ninth bishop of the 126-year-old diocese, which covers the six provinces of Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Phu Tho, Son La and Yen Bai, and parts of Hanoi and the three provinces of Ha Giang, Hoa Binh and Tuyen Quang. 

Born in 1969 in Thien Loc Parish in Lam Dong province under Da Lat Diocese’s administration, Father Tien joined seminarians of Hung Hoa Diocese in 1992 and worked at the bishop’s house and two parishes before he studied further at the East Asian Pastoral Institute in the Philippines and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, the US, from 2008-12. He holds a master’s degree in theology.

Bishop Peter Nguyen Van Vien has served as apostolic administrator of the diocese since August 2020

After returning home, he was in charge of seminarians and served as treasurer and vicar general.

Father Peter Le Quoc Hung, chancellor of Hung Hoa Bishop's House, called on local Catholics to pray for Father Tien in his new position. His ordination date will be set soon.

Bishop Peter Nguyen Van Vien has served as apostolic administrator of the diocese since August 2020.

In 2020, the diocese had 261,000 Catholics in 137 parishes and 700 subparishes served by 162 priests, 400 nuns and 1,800 catechists.