The Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City said he passed away at 5:22 p.m. on Sunday at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center following a prolonged illness.
He was admitted to Cho Ray Hospital on Feb. 9 for emergency treatment for gastrointestinal bleeding, cardiovascular disease and leg necrosis.
The cardinal was born in Ca Mau Province in the Mekong Delta into a Catholic family. He felt called to religious life from an early age and later recounted that his vocation began after meeting Father Francis Xavier Truong Buu Diep during a meal in his home village.
Father Diep, who is expected to be beatified by the Vatican in July 2026, encouraged his parents to send him to a parish and seminary for early formation.
At about age seven, he began serving Mass at Tac Say Church in Bac Lieu Province under Father Diep. From age 10, he studied at several seminaries in the Mekong Delta before being ordained a priest in 1965.
In 1968, he traveled to the United States for further studies, earning an advanced degree in education after three years. Upon returning to Vietnam, he taught at Cai Rang Minor Seminary and later became rector of Thanh Quy Major Seminary in Can Tho in 1988. He was fluent in English and French.
He was appointed a bishop in 1993. In 1998, Pope John Paul II named him Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City, filling a post that had been vacant for years.
The Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City, part of the Saigon ecclesiastical province, is one of Vietnam’s three Catholic provinces alongside Hanoi and Hue. It has more than 722,000 Catholics, making it the country’s second-largest Catholic community after Xuan Loc Diocese in Dong Nai Province, with 204 parishes across 14 deaneries.
As archbishop, Father Man introduced reforms emphasizing care for the poor, service, and clergy formation. The archdiocese saw significant growth during his tenure in both its faithful and religious personnel.
On Oct. 21, 2003, he was elevated to cardinal, becoming the fifth Vietnamese cardinal. To date, six Vietnamese clerics have been elevated to the rank.
Cardinal is one of the highest ranks in the Roman Catholic Church, second only to the pope. Cardinals are appointed to advise the pope and assist in governing the global Church. Pham Minh Man took part in two papal conclaves, in 2005 and 2013.
In addition to leading the Ho Chi Minh City archdiocese, he served as vice president of the Vietnam Bishops’ Conference and was a member of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, as well as the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
He retired in 2014 and lived in quiet retirement at the archdiocese’s residence. He was succeeded by Archbishop Paul Bui Van Doc. The current archbishop is Joseph Nguyen Nang.
As of 2022, Vietnam had more than 7.2 million Catholics, the fifth-largest Catholic population in Asia. The country has three ecclesiastical provinces, Hanoi, Hue and Saigon, and 27 dioceses, each led by a bishop or archbishop.
The Vietnam Bishops’ Conference is the Church’s governing body, currently headed by Father Nang.
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