St. Joseph's Cathedral

St. Joseph's Cathedral is the seat of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Hanoi, and one of the major sights in the city's Old Quarter. In a plaza just off of Hoan Kiem Lake, this beautiful Gothic cathedral is one of the city's most iconic landmarks. Vietnam has a relatively large Roman Catholic population, and the Archdiocese of Hanoi is one of three archdiocese in the country.

Constructed in 1886, the cathedral was one of the first buildings built by the French during their colonization of Indochina. It's a beautiful old European-style church, and holds weekly Mass in both Vietnamese and French. Before leaving Hanoi, I think I would like to attend the French Mass at the cathedral.

We stepped inside the cool, quiet cathedral early one morning. The hot Vietnamese sun was already blaring down on the city, and it was good to get indoors. Beautiful stained-glass windows let plenty of light into the tall cathedral.

Although Vietnam has a relatively high Roman Catholic population, priests, many of whom resisted the spread of Communism and were viewed by some as French sympathizers, were arrested when the Communist government came to power in the north. The cathedral was closed for many years, but was opened again on Christmas Eve 1990 with the celebration of a Christmas Mass.