Tonquin provided itself with a feeder by establishing the Seminary of Foreign Missions, in France, Japan did not, and, as a consequence, the church of Tonquin flourished while that of Japan died. Finally, forging a weapon wherewith to do battle for his cause, he pays a glowing tribute to the supposed founder of his favorite mission, Alexander de Rhodes, in the following words: "The illustrious Jesuit, Father Alexander de Rhodes, S.J., was the Josue of the Tonquinese mission. His was a broader mind than most of his contemporaries. Driven from Tonquin (Tonkin, Vietnam), he went to Rome, whence, after advising with the Pope, he journeyed to Paris, there to inaugurate the great Seminary of the Foreign Missions."Now we must premise that it is only by the courtesy of his sincere and warm-hearted admirer that de Rhodes can be called the Josue of the Tonquinese mission, for, in point of fact, he was not the first to enter it, never inaugurated the Seminary of the Foreign Missions, and never led his warriors, or even went back himself, to that promised land. Nevertheless, he was a noble and heroic soul, and deserves all the praise we can give him. Yet if his letters portray him rightly, he would be hurt to find himself exalted at the expense of his brethren.
Authorities in Da Lat, southern Vietnam, are knocking down the Pontifical Institute of St. Pius X in Da Lat to make a "cultural and urban park". And despite the repeated requests made by the bishops of the country for its return for use as a seminary in what was a property of the Vatican's representative in Vietnam, where some 13 bishops and 306 priests currently operating in the country graduated from. The Institute opened its doors to its first class September 13, 1958. It was built by Jesuit Father Ferdinand Lacretelle, who arrived in Saigon in 1957, at the request of the Vietnamese bishops and the Vatican entrusted it to the Society of Jesus. It was managed by religious from France, Italy, Spain and Canada.
On August 1961, Ambassador Mario Brini laid the foundation stone for the reconstruction of the structure and Msgr. Francesco De Nittis, representing the nuncio, organized its inauguration April 23, 1964. On 21 September of that year, a decree (604BCTNG/ND/HC.TC. 3) of the government of then South Vietnam guaranteed "the perpetual title of the plot No 54, page 20 of Dalat City, an area of 79,200 square meters to the Vatican Consulate”.
Until 1975, the Institute gathered seminarians from the Diocese of the South, resulting in the formation of 14 bishops. With the exception of Mgr. Peter Nguyen Van Nho, who has since died, the others are still working for the Vietnamese Church. With them 306 priests, 227 diocesan and 79 religious were formed in the St. Pius X institute.
Link (here) to Asia News
Another Great article with a picture of the seminary (here)
Photo is Fr. Ferdinand Lacretelle, S.J. (here)
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Recorded history of Catholicism in Vietnam was as the followings: According to the Royal Vietnamese Annals: “in the year of Nguyên Hòa (1533), under the reign of King Lê Trang Tông, there was a decree already in existence that banned Christianity. The decree mentioned the name of an European individual, Ignatio, who by seaway had landed and preached the religion at Ninh Cường and Quỳnh Anh Villages, district Nam Chân” (present Nam Định). The document did not mention his congregation, but probably Ignatio belonged to a religious order. Based on the fact that the above decree had been issued before 1533 it is understandable to presume that the Good News of Jesus Christ had been preached before that year of 1533 on the soil of Vietnam. Therefore, it was a very important year in the history of the Vietnamese Catholic Church.In the very early stage of the Vietnamese Church, the missionaries traveled all over the country. They came from different European countries via neighboring countries such as the Philippine Islands, Malacca, Macao, Japan,... They were accompanied by European merchants and belonged to a variety of congregations:Society of Jesus (SJ)Dominican Fathers (OP), Order of the Minor Friars of St. Francis (Franciscans, ofm) and the Foreign Mission of Paris (MEP).
