# Roman Catholic Diocese of Bùi Chu

The diocese of Bùi Chu (Latin: Dioecesis Buichuensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese of Vietnam. It encompasses 4/5 of Nam Định Province in terms of area, including the six districts of Xuân Trường, Giao Thủy, Hải Hậu, Nghĩa Hưng, Trực Ninh, and Nam Trực and part of Nam Định city. The current bishop of the diocese since August 2013 is Thomas Aquinas Vũ Đình Hiệu.

## Overview

Bùi Chu Diocese covers an area of 1,350 km$^2$, and is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Hanoi.
From the late 17th century until 1930s, this was a center of the Spanish Dominican mission in Vietnam. The covering area of Bùi Chu is the same as at present as it has been from 1936, when it still was an apostolic vicariate. It was declared a diocese on November 24, 1960.
By 2018, the Diocese of Bùi Chu had about 409,000 believers (32.8% of the population) in 176 parishes.
The diocese is divided into 13 deaneries: Báo Đáp, Bùi Chu, Đại Đồng, Kiên Chính, Lạc Đạo, Liễu Đề, Ninh Cường, Phú Nhai, Quần Phương, Quỹ Nhất, Thức Hóa, Tứ Trùng, and Tương Nam.

## Ordinaries
### Vicar Apostolic of Central Tonking (1847-1924)

| Vicar apostolic | Vicar apostolic | Period in office | Status |
| 1 | Bishop Domingo Martí, O.P. | May 18, 1847 – August 26, 1852 | Died in office |
| 2 | Bishop José María Díaz Sanjurjo, O.P. | August 26, 1852 – July 20, 1857 | Died in office, Martyred. |
| 3 | Bishop José Melchór García-Sampedro Suárez, O.P. | July 20, 1857 – July 28, 1858 | Died in office, Martyred. |
| 4 | Bishop Valentín Faustino Berrio-Ochoa de Aristi, O.P. | July 28, 1858 – November 01, 1861 | Died in office, Martyred. |
| 5 | Bishop Bernabé García Cezón, O.P. | September 09, 1864 – November, 1879 | Resigned |
| 6 | Bishop Manuel Ignacio Riaño | November, 1879 – November 26, 1884 | Died in office |
| 7 | Bishop Wenceslao Oñate, O.P. | November 26, 1884 – June 23, 1897 | Died in office |
| 8 | Bishop Máximo Fernández, O.P. | February 12, 1898 – August 14, 1907 | Resigned |
| 9 | Bishop Pedro Muñagorri y Obineta, O.P. | August 14, 1907 – December 23, 1924 | Remained as vicar apostolic of Bui Chu. |

### Vicar Apostolic of Bùi Chu (1924-1960)

| Vicar apostolic | Vicar apostolic | Period in office | Status |
| 9 | Bishop Pedro Muñagorri y Obineta, O.P. | December 03, 1924 – June 17, 1936 | Died in office |
| 10 | Bishop Domingo Hồ Ngọc Cẩn | June 17, 1936 – November 27, 1948 | Died in office |
| – | Bishop Thaddeus Lê Hữu Từ, O. Cist. | 1948 – February 03, 1950 | Apostolic Administrator |
| 11 | Bishop Pierre-Marie Phạm Ngọc Chi | February 03, 1950 – March 05, 1960 | Transferred to Quy Nhon |
| – | Fr. Joseph-Marie Phạm Năng Tĩnh | 1959 – March 05, 1960 | Apostolic Administrator |
| 12 | Bishop Joseph-Marie Phạm Năng Tĩnh | March 05, 1960 – November 24, 1960 | Remained as bishop of Bui Chu |

### Bishop of Bùi Chu (1960-present)

| Bishop | Bishop | Period in office | Status |
| 1 | Bishop Joseph-Marie Phạm Năng Tĩnh | November 24, 1960 – February 11, 1974 | Died in office |
| 2 | Bishop Dominique-Marie Lê Hữu Cung | April 28, 1975 – March 12, 1987 | Died in office |
| 3 | Bishop Joseph Vũ Duy Nhất | March 12, 1987 – December 11, 1999 | Died in office |
| 4 | Bishop Joseph Hoàng Văn Tiệm, S.D.B. | July 04, 2001 – August 17, 2013 | Died in office |
| 5 | Bishop Thomas Vũ Đình Hiệu | August 17, 2013 – present | Current bishop |

#### Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Central Tonking (1848-1884)

| Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic | Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic | Period in office |
| 1 | Bishop José María Díaz Sanjurjo, O.P. | September 05, 1848 – August 26, 1852 |
| 2 | Bishop José Melchór García-Sampedro Suárez, O.P. | April 15, 1853 – July 20, 1857 |
| 3 | Bishop Valentín Faustino Berrio-Ochoa de Aristi, O.P. | December 25, 1857 – July 28, 1858 |
| 4 | Bishop Manuel Ignacio Riaño | August 20, 1866 – November, 1879 |
| 5 | Bishop Wenceslao Oñate, O.P. | September 18, 1882 – November 26, 1884 |

#### Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Bùi Chu (1935-1936)

| Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic | Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic | Period in office | Reference |
| 1 | Bishop Domingo Hồ Ngọc Cẩn | March 11, 1935 – June 17, 1936 | |

#### Coadjutor Bishops of Bùi Chu (1979-2013)

| Coadjutor Bishops | Coadjutor Bishops | Coadjutor Bishops | Coat of Arms | Period in office | Reference |
| 1 | | Bishop Joseph Vũ Duy Nhất | | July 04, 1979 – March 12, 1987 | |
| 2 | | Bishop Thomas Vũ Đình Hiệu | | December 24, 2012 – August 17, 2018 | |

#### Auxiliary Bishops of Bùi Chu (2005-2009)

| | | Coat of Arms | Period in office | Reference |
| 1 | Bishop Pierre Nguyễn Văn Đệ, S.D.B. | | November 29, 2005 – July 25, 2009 | |

## Sites

The Queen of the Holy Rosary Cathedral in Xuân Ngọc Commune, Xuân Trường District, which has been assigned as the see (the location of the cathedral and its Bishop's chair, and thus the headquarters) of the diocese. There are 12 Shrines in the diocese. The Basilica of Immaculate Conception, Phu Nhai is one of them.
There is a traditional charity centre called Nhà Dục Anh (Orphanage House) in the northwest side of the Bùi Chu Cathedral.