HO CHI MINH CITY (UCAN): Pope Francis named Auxiliary Bishop John Do Van Ngan bishop of the Diocese of Xuan Loc, Dong Nai province, in southern Vietnam, Father Joseph Dao Nguyen Vu, head of the Office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam, announced on January 16.
Bishop Do, who is presently head of the Episcopal Commission for the Doctrine of Vietnamese Bishops, will succeed Joseph Đình Đúc Đao, who turns 76-years-old in March. Bishop Đình, rector of the Catholic Institute of Vietnam and former head of the Episcopal Commission for Catholic Education, ordained Bishop Do in 2017.
Bishop Do, who is 67-years-old, is a taekwondo martial artist, studied in the Philippines, taught philosophy at Xuan Loc Major Seminary and served as vicar general of the diocese of around a million Catholics whose predecessors moved from the north in 1954 after the defeat of French troops by communist forces.
He will be the sixth bishop of the 56-year-old diocese, which is seen as the country’s stronghold of the Church.
The Vatican has not named any new bishops for Vietnam since the appointment of Bishop Joseph Nguyen Duc Cuong of Thanh Hoa in 2018.
