Roman Catholic Diocese of Vinh

The Diocese of Vinh (Latin: Dioecesis Vinhensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in central Vietnam. The Most Reverend Alphonse Nguyễn Hữu Long was appointed bishop on December 22, 2018.

Diocese of Vinh Dioecesis Vinhensis Giáo phận Vinh
Location
Country	Vietnam
Territory	Nghệ An
Ecclesiastical province	Hanoi
Metropolitan	Hanoi
Statistics
Area	16,499 km^2 (6,370 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2018) 3,065,300 281,934 (9.2%)
Parishes	93
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Cathedral	Assumption Cathedral at Xã Đoài
Patron saint	Mary of the Assumption
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Alphonse Nguyễn Hữu Long
Metropolitan Archbishop	Joseph Vũ Văn Thiên
Auxiliary Bishops	Pierre Nguyễn Văn Viên
Bishops emeritus	Paul-Marie Cao Ðình Thuyên (in office 2000–2010)
Website
giaophanvinh.net

The diocese covers an area of 16,499 km², and is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Hanoi.[1]

Assumption Cathedral at Xã Đoài in Nghi Diên commune is the cathedral of the diocese.[2]

History

The circuit (trấn) of Nghệ An was evangelized by Jesuit missionaries as early as in 1629, especially by Girolamo Maiorica. After the Apostolic Vicariate of Tonkin (Đàng Ngoài) was created in 1659, MEP missionaries were assigned to Nghệ An trấn. In 1846, the Vicariate of South Tonkin (Nam Đàng Ngoài) was established, covering the area of Nghệ An and Hà Tĩnh provinces as well as northern Quảng Bình province. It has been renamed Vinh in 1924 and elevated to a diocese in 1960. In 2006, the other part of Quảng Bình province, south of Gianh River and Son River, was officially transferred from Archdiocese of Huế to the Diocese of Vinh after decades under Vinh's de facto supervision following the Partition of Vietnam. After being split to establish the Diocese of Hà Tĩnh in 2018,[3] the Diocese of Vinh currently covers Nghệ An Province only.

References

1. Catholic Hierarchy Directory
2. GCatholic.org
3. Rinunce e nomine, 22.12.2018