On behalf of the Hanoi authorities, Hai congratulated Joseph Vu Van Thien on his appointment as archbishop of the Hanoi Archdiocese and wished all Catholic dignitaries and laypeople a merry Christmas.
He informed the archbishop of the city’s notable achievement in 2018 and affirmed that such achievements were partly contributed by Catholic citizens.
The Hanoi Party leader expects that the archbishop, priests and Catholics will continue to join hands in building a wealthy, beautiful and civilised capital city.
For his part, Archbishop Joseph Vu Van Thien stated that it is his honour to lead the Hanoi Archdiocese and thanked the Hanoi secretary for his wishes while expressing his desire that he will receive the Hanoi government’s support during his tenure.
* On the same day, Hai visited two Catholic families in Tay Ho district, namely the 99-year-old Heroic Vietnamese Mother Nguyen Thi Be, whose only son sacrificed his life for the nation, and 95-year-old Nguyen Thi Ngoan, who donated her own land to extend a road.
Inquiring after the two Catholic seniors, the Hanoi leader recognised and thanked them for their contributions and sacrifices to the capital city and the nation.
