Phát Diệm Cathedral

Very nice cathedral built with stone and timber. The architectural style is a mix of vietnamese and european which makes it unique and interesting. It is hard to reach from Ninh binh or from hanoi.
I took a guide from Ninh binh to go there for 500k. But it is worth a visit. There are few small churches in the complex which are closed. The main church had a mass when I went and we were not allowed to enter until the mass is over. Better check the time in advance.

We visited the cathedral and the nearby square on the night of the 24th of december. There, they were celebrating a Catholic event: so many beautiful decorations, incredible music, and many many people awaited us - it was the best thing ever! Sadly, we couldn't visit the inside of the Cathedral, but I appreciated a lot the mix of Christian and Buddhism elements. I had never seen a church shaped like a Pagoda, I recommend it a lot. Especially if you happen to get here near Christmas :)

Beautiful cathedral. Gorgeous. The most serene, kind soul of a nun told us about its history. What a lovely soul she was. The place is definitely worth a visit.

An architectural work with many historical and cultural significance. The architecture of churches in Europe is cleverly integrated with local architecture and culture to create closeness and familiarity with the people. thanks to that the church becoming more familiar to people here.
The large stone works crafted and transported by hand also show how the power of determination and belief can give people great strength.

Nice place to visit in Vietnam. The guide was very friendly and she explained everything clearly. They request maintenance contributions rather than selling entrance tickets. Attention: Suggest their care not to erase the original architecture while doing the up-keeping work.

One of the most beautiful ancient church ever been builded in Vietnam!

Unique architecture in Vietnam, mixed between Catholic and Buddha (local temple) religion, should come when you have time in Ninhbinh province.

And one of the four stone cathedral in Vietnam, Sapa, Tam Đảo, Phát Diệm and Nha Trang but this one is the most beautiful one.

I have been in three of them except for Tam Dao

This is a very impressive cathedral complex built in 19th century. What is interesting is indeed the vision behind this church of Father Tran Luc who designed these unique stone and wood structures. This Vietnamese priest managed to “reproduce a good traditional symbol, in which Cathlolics can still worship God with the mind of Vietnamese, respect and preserve traditonal custom as precious heritage.” For example, do you know in the grand hall (Nhà Thờ Lớn), beside Jesus in the middle, Father Tran Luc also put other Vietnamese representatives to show inclusivity and the notion that this religion is for everyone regardless of their gender, social status or races. You should ask for a guide which is a nun from the cathedral itself who will provide you with surprising and meaningful stories which observing the architecture will not help reveal.

Phát Diệm Cathedral was built by the priest Father Tran Luc, also called as Pere Six in French or cu Sau in Vietnamese. Pere Six's tomb is in the front yard of the cathedral. The wooden statues in the cathedral were all carved by Pho Gia, a Vietnamese artisan.

The Cathedral was closed in 1954 when a division of the Vietnamese forces caused Catholics to leave; they moved to safer places in South Vietnam. Now the cathedral is functional and there are many more churches in the district.

On 15 August 1972 the Cathedral was bombed resulting in the collapse of its entire west wall, the convents and two of the schools. But now, after restoration, there are not even tell-tale marks of this destruction.

The novelist Graham Greene described the Cathedral as "more Buddhist than Christian," in his novel the Quiet American.

An unique cathedral with Eastern-temple-like architecture. It also possesses a deep history about the development of Catholic Church in Vietnam

Nice place to visit

Really worth the visit, beautiful side chaples and main church. Not often will you see such a mix of architecture with a Catholic church

Free as in beer just a bit of a journey to get there. World renowned and well worth a visit. Main cathedral is open only on scheduled Mass services. Very much still in use in this very catholic part of Ninh Binh.

If you are done with buddhist pagodas and Confucius temples see the same type of architecture applied to a different, perhaps more familiar God.

Still very much intact. A few coffee houses, souvenir stalls and restaurants around (and a great ice cream.palour on the main street of town!) but nothing pushy about it.

A truly magnificent monument to God, whatever belief you might hold.

I could see the toll of time on the stone walls of all the buildings here and I marvel at how it remains strong over the years. The carvings are so deep and intricate that they stand out at night. The interior has a lot of wood elements and is obviously influenced by Vietnamese compared to St Joseph’s Cathedral in Hanoi Old Quarter. I also like the large grounds that appears linked to what seemed like a community house and also how the faith had spilled over into what appears to be a lake with statue of worship in the middle. Everything is so wonderful and lovely here. I strongly recommend tourists to walk around the Kim Son District that is surrounding this beautiful place of worship.

The Cathedral is still old and no charge for long time.

This is my hometown so i am so excited to share about it to people around the world. Phat Diem cathedral is a historical place built in 20st century. Every year there are thousand of delegation of travelers and pilgrim coming here to visit and to join traditional mass. Be at this place you will get to see an skillful structures made by old manual equipments thousand years ago.

Visit each time I come to Ninh Binh. It is too beautiful with east-west combined architect. A Roman-styled church but with tons of Vietnamese culture in its designs. For example, the saints are mediating on top of the church as pics below

Worth to visit. Mix of Chinese and Christianity.

Interesting cathedral, it has its own unique. Worth visiting.

Beautiful Catholic stone cathedral blending French and Vietnamese style.