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At 7am, Cardinal Phero Nguyen Van Nhon, former Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hanoi, offered farewell words to the late Cardinal in the presence of his family.
The coffin of Cardinal Gioan Baotixita was then carried from the old chapel to the outdoor altar for the funeral liturgy.
A total of 34 bishops from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam, along with thousands of faithful from across the country, gathered at the Pastoral Center within Saint Joseph Major Seminary in Ho Chi Minh City. The venue was filled to capacity.
Archbishop Marek Zalewski, the Vatican’s resident representative in Vietnam, delivered a message of condolence.
In a solemn and reverent atmosphere, sacred hymns echoed continuously as the choir led the congregation in prayer, accompanying the late Cardinal on his final journey.
At around 11am, the coffin of Cardinal Gioan Baotixita Pham Minh Man was brought into the chapel inside Saint Joseph Major Seminary. During the burial procession, only priests, nuns and close family members were allowed inside the chapel.
Maria Xuan Trang, from Xuan Hoa ward, shared that she regarded the Cardinal as a grandfather and a spiritual father within the community. Though she had only known him through images and videos, she felt a deep sense of closeness and affection.
As a fellow native of Ca Mau, she expressed pride in the Cardinal’s lifelong care for the faithful. On this day, she took leave from work to attend his final farewell.
Long lines of mourners formed as people waited patiently to enter the chapel and pay their respects to the late Cardinal.
Nguyen Hue - Tuan Hung
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