The diocese of Thai Binh is a Roman Catholic diocese in northern 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 is François Xavier Nguyên Van Sang, since 1990. 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 Monsignor Pierre Nguyen Van De to be bishop upon Nguyên Van Sang's retirement.

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

The diocese covers an area of 2,200 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 Thai Binh had about 116,399 believers (4.1% of the population), 42 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 64 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.

Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart

The Sacred Heart is one of the most famous religious devotions to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of His divine love for Humanity....

 Cathedral in Thai Binh

Thai Binh

Thái Bình is a city in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam. It is the capital of Thai Binh province. It is located 110 km from Hanoi. The city area is 67.7 square km, with a population of 210,000 people . Before the prime minister declared it a city in June of 2004, it was officially a town....

 town 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...

.

In May, 2008, the authorities returned the two-building compound of build in 1936 My Duc seminary to the diocese. The seminary, which now bears the name of the Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart

The Sacred Heart is one of the most famous religious devotions to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of His divine love for Humanity....

, provides education for 33 Roman Catholic students.