On the afternoon of June 30, the cardinal arrived in Hanoi from the Vatican. He was welcomed by Archbishop Marek Zalewski, the Holy See's Resident Representative to Vietnam; Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Nang, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Vietnam (CBCV); Archbishop Joseph Vu Van Thien, vice president of the CBCV; representatives of the Archdiocese of Hanoi; and officials from the Government Committee for Religious Affairs under the Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs.

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Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Section for the First Evangelization of the Dicastery for Evangelization, arrives in Vietnam. Photo: Archdiocese of Hanoi

At the Beatification Mass for Father Truong Buu Diep, Cardinal Tagle will attend not only in his capacity as Pro-Prefect of the Section for the First Evangelization of the Vatican's Dicastery for Evangelization. He has also been appointed by Pope Leo XIV as the Pope's Special Envoy for the occasion.

According to the official schedule, Cardinal Tagle will preside over the Beatification Mass at 8 a.m. on July 2 at the Tac Say Pilgrimage Center in the Diocese of Can Tho on behalf of Pope Leo XIV.

Father Truong Buu Diep will become the first Blessed of the Catholic Church in Vietnam to be beatified on Vietnamese soil. More than 70,000 Catholics and pilgrims are expected to attend, together with bishops, priests, religious men and women, and guests from Vietnam and abroad.

During his visit, Cardinal Tagle will meet members of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Vietnam, pay courtesy visits to authorities in Ca Mau Province, visit the Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs, and meet Archbishop Marek Zalewski. On July 3, he will preside over the Feast of Saint Thomas the Apostle at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Hanoi.

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Cardinal Tagle's six-day visit to Vietnam from June 30 to July 4 includes a series of official and pastoral engagements. Photo: Archdiocese of Hanoi

According to the Archdiocese of Hanoi, Cardinal Tagle heads the Second Section of the Dicastery for Evangelization. In 2019, Pope Francis appointed him Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, formerly known as the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith.

In 2022, Pope Francis promulgated the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium, introducing a major reform of the Roman Curia. Under the reform, the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples were merged to form the Dicastery for Evangelization, which is headed directly by the Pope.

The dicastery is organized into two sections, each led by a Pro-Prefect.

Following the promulgation of the Apostolic Constitution, the Holy See Press Office announced Cardinal Tagle's appointment as head of the Section for the First Evangelization.

Hong Phuc