The diocese of Phát Diêm is a Roman Catholic diocese of Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

. The bishop position has been vacant since April 2007. However, on July 25, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

 selected Rev. Joseph Nguyen Nang to head the diocese.

The creation of the diocese in present form was declared November 24, 1960.

The diocese covers an area of 1,787 km², and is a suffragan diocese

Suffragan Diocese

A suffragan diocese is a diocese in the Catholic Church that is overseen not only by its own diocesan bishop but also by a metropolitan bishop. The metropolitan is always an archbishop who governs his own archdiocese...

 of the Archdiocese of Hanoi.

By 2004, the diocese of Phát Diêm had about 144,721 believers (15.9% of the population), 31 priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

s and 65 parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

es.

Queen of the Rosary

Rosary

The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...

 Cathedral in Kim Son (Ninh Binh Province

Ninh Bình Province

-Festivals:* Thai Vi festival * Truong Yen Festival* Yen Cu Festival* Non Khe Festival-Transportation:...

) has been assigned as the Cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 of the diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

. This cathedral complex was built between 1875 and 1899 and comprises four churches and one basilic, as well as several parks, ponds and grottos.