HANOI, Vietnam, MAY 13, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet, 57, of Hanoi. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Archbishop Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon.
Archbishop Nguyen, 72, was appointed to that position April 22. He arrived to the archdiocese recently, and an official welcoming Mass was celebrated for him on May 7.
<p>Archbishop Ngo has been experiencing physical ailments, and had just arrived back to Hanoi on April 9 after spending more than a month in Rome where he was receiving medical treatment.
At the May 7 Mass, he addressed the people, pointing out that his present state of health justified the presence of an coadjutor archbishop.
Archbishop Ngo invited the faithful to obey the new archbishop as they had obeyed him, noting that Archbishop Nguyen is linked to the archdiocese by a bond of love.
The Archdiocese of Hanoi has about 335,000 Catholics in a population of some 5.4 million. The faithful are served by 91 priests and 322 religious.
Vinh
Also today, the Vatican announced that Benedict XVI appointed Dominican Father Paul Nguyen Thai Hop, professor of ethics and Church social doctrine at the Dominican study center and various other religious and secular institutes, as bishop of Vinh, Vietnam.
Bishop-elect Nguyen, 65, succeeds Bishop Paul-Marie Cao Dinh Thuyen, 83, who retired for reasons of age.
Born in Lang Anh, Vietnam, Paul Nguyen Thai Hop was ordained a priest in 1972.
The Vinh Diocese has some 486,000 Catholics, served by 166 priests and 610 religious.
