Father Joseph Nguyen Nang was ordained Bishop of the Phat Diem diocese at the Phat Diem Cathedral, Kim Son district, Ninh Binh province on September 8.

Father Joseph Nguyen Nang.

Earlier on July 25, father Nguyen Nang was appointed Bishop of the Phat Diem Diocese by Pope Benedict XVI.

Close to 20,000 Catholic followers witnessed the ordination ceremony.

At the event, Chairman of the Episcopal Council of the Catholic Church of Vietnam, Bishop Peter Nguyen Van Nhon, congratulated newly-ordained Bishop Nguyen Nang.

He expressed his belief that the new bishop of the Phat Diem diocese will make great contributions to leading the congregation in Phat Diem in particular and in Vietnam in general.

The 56-year old newly-ordained bishop Joseph Nguyen Nang was former rector of the St. Joseph Major Seminary in Xuan Loc.

He is the 100th ordained Vietnamese bishop. The first, Father Nguyen Ba Tong, was ordained in 1933.

VietNamNet/VNA