St. Joseph’s Cathedral is the principal Roman Catholic church in Hanoi. It’s the oldest church in the city and an example of French colonial-era architecture. The church is dedicated to Saint Joseph, the patron saint of Vietnam.
Construction of this Cathedral began in 1884 on the site of an old ruined Pagoda. Following the French conquest of Hanoi in 1873, colonial authorities and missionaries began to plan this cathedral — one of the first major French designed structures in the city. The cathedral is built in the Gothic Revival style and is modeled after Notre-Dame de Paris. It was completed and consecrated on Christmas Eve in 1886.
After 1954 and the division of Vietnam, the cathedral faced challenges, including periods of closure. The communist government “tolerates” people of faith, but is officially atheistic, and if you have a religion you have no chance of working within any of the branches of the government. So I can see how this was challenging for Christians and Buddhists within the country during this time. The Cathedral reopened for Mass on Christmas Eve in 1990. Major exterior renovations took place from 2020 to 2022. In 2022, a new pipe organ (with 1,850 pipes) was installed through an international cultural exchange program.
A photo of the cathedral’s exterior, featuring the Virgin Mary, was used as last weekend’s One Clue Mystery photo (see photo below). As usual, the location was accurately identified by George G. It’s a nice statue in my opinion, and the setting against the gray of the church works well.
Compared with the lavish cathedrals of Europe, this church is relatively plain. Still, it has some interesting features, which include:
- Exterior walls of granite stone slabs and brick with concrete facing
- Two square bell towers, each about 31 meters (103 feet) tall
- Pointed arches and rib-vaulted ceilings
The altar features a 2 meter tall sculpted statue of St. Joseph holding the infant Jesus. It is flanked by angels and smaller statues of saints.
There are several interesting minor altars within the Cathedral….
Other items from within the cathedral that I found interesting include:
The church has nice stained-glass windows which were imported from France. Below is a sampling of them:
St. Joseph’s Cathedral is a popular landmark in Hanoi’s Old Quarter. It’s located on Nhà Chung Street (at the end of Nhà Thờ Street), just west of Hoan Kiem Lake. The area was crowded with tourists when we visited and is surrounded by busy restaurants and boutiques.
While you can always visit the exterior, the interior is primarily open during Mass times. Multiple Masses are held daily, so your chances of gaining entry are good. Entry is free. Modest dress is encouraged.
