Alphonsus Nguyễn Hữu Long

Alphonsus Nguyễn Hữu Long (; born 25 January 1953) is a Vietnamese Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Vinh since 2019. A member of the Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice, he was previously Auxiliary Bishop of Hưng Hóa from 2013 to 2018 and chaired the Committee for Evangelization of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Vietnam for three consecutive terms from 2013 to 2022.

Born in Hanoi and raised in Da Nang after his family migrated south in 1954, Nguyễn Hữu Long studied at the minor and major seminaries in Da Nang before completing compulsory labour at the Phú Ninh irrigation works from 1978 to 1982. Ordained a priest in 1990, he studied canon law at the Institut Catholique de Paris and joined the Sulpicians in 2003. He taught at the Major Seminary of Huế and became its rector in 2011.

Appointed a bishop by Pope Francis in 2013, Nguyễn Hữu Long spent five years ministering to ethnic-minority Catholic communities in the mountainous Hưng Hóa diocese, gaining a reputation for simplicity and closeness to the poor. In 2018 he was transferred to lead the Diocese of Vinh, one of Vietnam's largest, where his tenure has been marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, a major pastoral construction project, and public controversies—including the suspension and subsequent canonical trial of activist priest , a disputed ordination in the Philippines, and a parish land dispute. His approach to church–state relations, characterised by dialogue with communist authorities, has drawn both support within Vietnam and criticism from overseas Vietnamese Catholics.

Early life and education

Nguyễn Hữu Long was born on 25 January 1953 in Làng Rùa village, Thanh Oai District, Hanoi, then part of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. He was one of several children of Alphonsus Nguyễn Chí Phúc, who worked away from home for long periods, and Teresa Phạm Thị Hảo (1925–2012), who raised the children. Three of the children entered religious life: Nguyễn Hữu Long himself; his elder brother Joseph Nguyễn Trí Dũng, who became a priest of the Diocese of Da Nang and served as vice-chairman of Vietnam's Committee for Catholic Solidarity;

Following the partition of Vietnam in 1954, the family migrated south and settled in Da Nang. Nguyễn Hữu Long later described his upbringing as ordinary but devout; the family prayed the rosary together each evening and he was involved in parish youth groups. Inspired by his elder brother's path to the priesthood and encouraged by his parents, he entered the Minor Seminary of St. John in Da Nang in 1965, part of the first intake of that institution.

Labour camp and early ministry

From 1978 to 1982, Nguyễn Hữu Long performed compulsory labour at the Phú Ninh irrigation project in Quảng Nam Province, one of about two dozen seminarians assigned there. He later described the work—carrying earth and stone, digging irrigation channels—as closer to "penal labour" than "glorious service". He served as assistant priest at Tam Kỳ parish (1990–1994) before being sent to France to study canon law at the Institut Catholique de Paris, where he earned a master's degree.

Sulpician and seminary rector

In 2003 Nguyễn Hữu Long joined the Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice (P.S.S.), a society of apostolic life dedicated to seminary formation. From 2004 to 2005 he undertook Sulpician training in Canada and completed further studies in canon law in Paris.

Auxiliary Bishop of Hưng Hóa (2013–2018)

Appointment and consecration

On 15 June 2013, Pope Francis appointed Nguyễn Hữu Long Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Hưng Hóa and Titular Bishop of Gummi in Byzacena. The appointment was announced simultaneously with that of as Auxiliary Bishop of Vinh. The consecration was attended by Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, the Holy See's non-resident representative to Vietnam; Archbishop Peter Nguyễn Văn Nhơn of Hanoi, president of the bishops' conference; and bishops from more than twenty Vietnamese dioceses.

Nguyễn Hữu Long chose an unusual episcopal motto: "Mang vào mình mùi chiên" ("Take on the smell of the sheep"), taken not from scripture but from Pope Francis's Chrism Mass homily delivered earlier that year, in which the pope urged priests to be "shepherds living with the smell of the sheep". He later explained the motto as signifying a pastor's closeness to his people: "to take on their joys and sorrows as my own".

Pastoral work with ethnic minorities

The Diocese of Hưng Hóa, covering much of northwestern Vietnam, is the country's largest diocese by area and one of its poorest. At the time of Nguyễn Hữu Long's appointment it had roughly 200,000 Catholics—many of them Hmong and other ethnic minorities—served by only about sixty active priests across eleven provinces. While the diocesan bishop handled administration, Nguyễn Hữu Long spent most of his time travelling to remote communities, often journeying on foot or by motorcycle across mountain terrain to reach villages accessible only by dirt track.

Images of the bishop—wading through fast-flowing streams with sacks of bread on his back to deliver to flood-stricken villages, blowing soap bubbles for Hmong children, washing dishes and making tea himself during parish visits—circulated widely in Vietnamese Catholic media and earned him a reputation for simplicity. A seminarian who frequently accompanied him observed: "I have known the bishop for over forty years, since he was a seminarian. In all that time he has not changed—in character, in manner. Everywhere he goes he brings sweets and fruit as gifts for the children; he is warm and welcoming to everyone he meets."

Committee for Evangelization

At the October 2013 plenary assembly of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Vietnam, Nguyễn Hữu Long was elected chair of the Committee for Evangelization, a position he held for three consecutive terms (2013–2016, 2016–2019, 2019–2022). In this role he repeatedly drew attention to what he described as the stagnation of Catholic growth in Vietnam: the Catholic proportion of the population, he noted, had remained essentially unchanged for more than four decades, with new baptisms coming mostly through marriage rather than through active evangelization. "The work of mission in Vietnam is not bearing fruit," he told Vatican News in 2019, adding that Vietnamese Catholics tended to "keep the faith for themselves" rather than share it. He also participated in the October 2019 conference marking 400 years of the development of the Vietnamese Latin script in the history of evangelization, held in Ho Chi Minh City.

Other activities

In 2014, as one of 94 new missionary bishops from 49 countries, Nguyễn Hữu Long participated in a formation programme in Rome and was received in audience by Pope Francis. He took part in the Vietnamese bishops' ad limina visit to Rome in March 2018, where the bishops met with Pope Francis and the dicasteries of the Roman Curia.

During his years in Hưng Hóa, he repeatedly met with provincial authorities in Điện Biên, Lai Châu, Lào Cai, and Yên Bái to negotiate formal registration of Catholic places of worship and the establishment of new parishes. In December 2016, while celebrating Christmas Mass for Hmong Catholics in Phù Yên District, Sơn La Province, he was reportedly threatened with expulsion by plainclothes police for having conducted the liturgy without prior permission.

Bishop of Vinh (2019–present)

Appointment and installation

On 22 December 2018, Pope Francis erected the new Diocese of Hà Tĩnh from the southern portion of the Diocese of Vinh and transferred Nguyễn Hữu Long from Hưng Hóa to become Bishop of Vinh, replacing , who became the first bishop of Hà Tĩnh. The reconfigured Diocese of Vinh, covering Nghệ An Province, retained about 282,000 Catholics among 3.1 million people—one of Vietnam's largest dioceses by Catholic population, with 108 parishes and 179 priests.

Speaking to Vatican News after the announcement, Nguyễn Hữu Long said he felt "joy, sadness, worry, and peace"—joy at the trust shown by the Pope, sadness at leaving the Hưng Hóa communities he had served for five years, and worry at the scale of the task, but ultimately peace in accepting God's will.

He arrived at the bishop's residence in Xã Đoài on 20 January 2019. On 22 January, at a farewell Mass for Bishop Nguyễn Thái Hợp, the outgoing bishop symbolically handed his crozier to his successor. The formal installation took place on 12 February 2019 at a Mass attended by Archbishop Marek Zalewski, the Holy See's non-resident representative; Cardinal Peter Nguyễn Văn Nhơn; the president of the bishops' conference, Archbishop Joseph Nguyễn Chí Linh; and 31 other Vietnamese bishops. In his homily, Archbishop Nguyễn Chí Linh noted the new bishop's three decades of priesthood, his rectorship of the Huế seminary, and his five years as auxiliary bishop, expressing confidence in his leadership.

On 11 February 2019, the day before the installation, the chairman of the Nghệ An People's Committee, , led a provincial delegation to congratulate the new bishop, pledging the local government's cooperation in facilitating religious activities.

COVID-19 response

The COVID-19 pandemic reached Vietnam in early 2020, presenting a major pastoral challenge. Nguyễn Hữu Long initially issued safety guidelines while resisting a full suspension of public Masses. On 24 March 2020, in a pastoral letter, he declined to suspend Masses but instructed priests to celebrate multiple smaller liturgies to reduce crowding, and directed that the traditional communal celebration of the Sacrament of Penance be replaced by individual confessions.

Following feedback from clergy and the rapid spread of the virus, he reversed course three days later. On 28 March 2020, he suspended all public Masses and community pastoral activities throughout the diocese, while keeping churches open for private prayer. He urged families to intensify domestic devotions—especially the rosary and the Stations of the Cross—and to follow Masses broadcast online. On 2 April he issued detailed instructions for celebrating the liturgies of Holy Week without congregations. Public Masses resumed on 9 May 2020 after Vietnam's initial containment of the outbreak.

Pastoral centre construction

In February 2021, Nguyễn Hữu Long announced plans to build a new pastoral centre (Trung tâm Mục vụ) for the diocese. In a pastoral letter of May 2021, he appealed to each Catholic household to contribute the equivalent of two days' wages (approximately 400,000 Vietnamese đồng) toward the project, noting that parishioners had previously contributed one day's wage to diocesan works. Construction began on 3 June 2021. In October 2022 the diocese announced the establishment of a heritage room (Phòng Truyền thống) on the centre's second floor, collecting artefacts and documents related to the history of Catholicism in the region.

Vietnam Missionary Society

In October 2020, the bishops' conference appointed Nguyễn Hữu Long special representative for the Vietnam Missionary Society (Hội Thừa sai Việt Nam), succeeding Bishop , who had led the society since its founding in 1999. He was re-appointed to this role for a second term at the bishops' October 2022 plenary assembly. At the same assembly, Bishop succeeded him as chair of the Committee for Evangelization.

Essex lorry deaths

When 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated lorry in Essex, England, in October 2019—many of them from Nghệ An and Hà Tĩnh provinces—Nguyễn Hữu Long issued a pastoral letter on 29 October expressing solidarity with the victims' families. While noting that most cases still required verification, he wrote that he was "heartened that many places in the diocese are praying for the victims and supporting the bereaved families". The letter reminded the faithful that life is a gift from God and urged them to protect not only their own lives but those of others.

Controversies

Suspension of Father Đặng Hữu Nam

In June 2020, Nguyễn Hữu Long suspended Father Anton Đặng Hữu Nam, a priest of the diocese known for his activism on environmental issues and social justice—particularly in relation to the Formosa Ha Tinh Steel disaster of 2016—from pastoral ministry. The suspension was announced in a diocesan transfer notice on 17 June 2020 without detailed explanation; Nguyễn Hữu Long told Đặng the reasons were his health and his political speech. Đặng rejected the health rationale and said he had been given no opportunity to respond.

The suspension prompted criticism from overseas Vietnamese Catholic communities and human-rights organisations, who viewed it as politically motivated.

On 7 July 2026, Nguyễn Hữu Long initiated an extrajudicial canonical trial (processus criminalis extraiudicialis) against Đặng Hữu Nam, charging him under canons 1371 and 1390 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law with publicly inciting opposition and hatred toward the diocesan bishop and defaming him on social media. A summons was issued on 13 July requiring Đặng to appear on 20 July to hear the charges and evidence.

Ordination of Hồ Hữu Hòa

In February 2023, a controversy erupted when a man named Gioan Baotixita Hồ Hữu Hòa was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Maasin in the Philippines, reportedly with documentation—letters of authorisation bearing Nguyễn Hữu Long's signature and the Vinh diocesan seal—certified by the diocesan chancellor, Father Nguyễn Nam Việt. Hồ Hữu Hòa had previously been convicted of involvement in a bribery case connected to businessman Phan Văn Anh Vũ ("Vũ Nhôm") and had served two years and eight months in prison; he was released in December 2022. Vietnamese diaspora media also reported that Hồ was a nephew of , a former aide to Communist Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng.

On 10 February 2023, Nguyễn Hữu Long issued a formal statement disavowing any role in the ordination. He denied that Hồ Hữu Hòa was a seminarian of the Vinh diocese, denied having sent him for studies in southern Vietnam, and denied having signed any letters of authorisation for the ordination. He stated unequivocally that the documents presented to the Philippine church authorities were forgeries. He further confirmed that while Chancellor Nguyễn Nam Việt had indeed travelled to the Philippines and attended the ordination, he had done so in a personal capacity, not under episcopal mandate.

On 15 February 2023, the bishop barred Hồ Hữu Hòa from exercising priestly ministry in the Diocese of Vinh and suspended Chancellor Nguyễn Nam Việt from his duties as chancellor and chief of the diocesan office, appointing a replacement on an acting basis.

On 17 February 2023, the Diocese of Maasin released its own statement confirming that it had received a letter of authorisation bearing Nguyễn Hữu Long's signature and the Vinh diocesan seal, certified by the chancellor, before proceeding with Hồ Hữu Hòa's ordination.

Trại Gáo land dispute

In mid-2023, a dispute arose at Trại Gáo parish in Nghệ An Province over diocesan management of parish land. More than thirty parishioners signed an urgent petition, and on 22 June 2023, Nguyễn Hữu Long—together with an investigation committee—met with parish representatives to address their concerns. The diocese subsequently published the bishop's position and the committee's findings in a three-part report on its website.

Other disputes

In March 2023, diocesan sources reportedly instructed parishes to cease livestreaming and recording of Masses, including ordinations, Eucharistic adoration, and funerals. The ban, attributed to Nguyễn Hữu Long, was criticised in diaspora media as an attempt to limit transparency. The diocesan communications office did not respond to requests for comment. In the same month, an open letter circulated among overseas Vietnamese Catholics calling for Nguyễn Hữu Long's resignation, citing grievances over his handling of the Đặng Hữu Nam and Hồ Hữu Hòa cases. The letter's organisers planned to send it to the Holy See and the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.