Ngo Dinh Thuc - Early Ecclesiastical Career

Early Ecclesiastical Career

At age 12, he entered the minor seminary in An Ninh. He spent eight years there before going on to study philosophy at the major seminary in Huế. Following his ordination as a priest on 20 December 1925, he taught at the Sorbonne. He was selected to study theology in Rome, Italy, and returned to Vietnam in 1927 after having been awarded three doctorates from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in philosophy, theology, and Canon law. He then became a professor at the College of Vietnamese Brothers in Huế, a professor at the major seminary in Huế, and Dean of the College of Providence. In 1938, he was chosen by Rome to direct the Apostolic Vicariate at Vĩnh Long. He was consecrated a bishop on 4 May 1938, being the third Vietnamese priest raised to the rank of bishop. In 1957, Bishop Thục founded Dalat University, and, on 24 November 1960, he was named Archbishop of Huế by Pope John XXIII.