On March 22, 2026, Leo XIV sent a message of condolence to the former diocese of Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Phạm Minh Mẫn, Archbishop Emeritus of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The cardinal died on Sunday, March 22, 2026. In the missive, which was made public on March 26, he praised the cardinal’s commitment to “the constant promotion of dialogue and ecclesial unity.”
In this telegram addressed to Archbishop Joseph Nguyễn Năng, the current Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City, the pontiff expressed his sadness at the passing of the 92-year-old prelate. The Pope expresses his “immense gratitude” to the deceased. He then praises his “many years of dedicated priestly and episcopal ministry to the local Churches of My Tho” — where he served as bishop — ”and Ho Chi Minh City.”
Leo XIV recognizes “his contributions to the wider Church in Vietnam and to the Apostolic See.” He specifically recalls Cardinal Phạm Minh Mẫn’s “profound commitment” to “social responsibility” and to “the steadfast promotion of dialogue and ecclesial unity.” Lastly, he lauds his life “lived in evangelical simplicity and humility,” and prays for the repose of his “noble soul.”
A delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs came to pay their respects to the cardinal’s remains on Thursday. His funeral was Friday, March 27. Following his death, the College of Cardinals now numbers 243 cardinals, including 121 electors and 122 non-voting cardinals.
A history of complex relations
The Church has a long and complex history in Vietnam. Evangelization in the region started in the 16th century. After centuries of gradual growth, Christianity was banned in Vietnam in the 19th century. It had become perceived by the Confucian state as a threat to the absolute power of the emperor. Consequently, Christians were persecuted throughout the mid-19th century.
Then, under French colonial influence from the mid 19th to the early 20th centuries, Catholicism grew to become a proportionately small but important religion in Vietnam. In 1945, when the Vietnamese Communist leader Ho Chi Minh came to power and declared Vietnam’s independence from France, there were reportedly as many as 1.6 million Catholics (out of a population of more than 20 million).
In the period between 1945 and 1954 (when the Geneva Accords ended French colonialism in Southeast Asia), the Church — especially foreign missionaries — started to face repression again. During the Vietnam War (1954-1975), Catholics found refuge in South Vietnam. In 1975, the war ended and the country was united under Communist rule.
Initially the new regime was not friendly to the Catholic Church, but the Church has maintained an approach of dialogue and respect. The 1980 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam enshrines freedom of religion, but was not implemented without state interference in Church affairs.
Recent rapprochement
Continued dialogue has since resulted in warmer relations. In 2009, representatives of the Holy See and the Vietnamese government met in Hanoi. In July of 2023, the president of Vietnam visited the Holy See. The two parties signed an “Agreement on the Status of the Resident Papal Representative.” In December of that same year, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Marek Zalewski to fill this role.
Pope Leo XIV has since received the country’s vice president (June 2025) and the Vietnam-Holy See working group (September 2025).
While the Holy See does not yet have full diplomatic relations with Vietnam, these encounters and agreements are signs of hope for Catholics there, who now number about 7% of the country’s nearly 104 million people.
