[1] Catholic missions in Vietnam continued uninterrupted, but the most influential to make impact on the rise of Christian Church was Frenchman Alexandre de Rhodes.

[5] The Tây Sơn dynasty, founded after reunited Vietnam, began a level of persecution, though became even more serious under Emperor Cảnh Thịnh, who issued massacre on Christians.

[7] Pope John Paul II had acknowledged the importance of La Vang and expressed desire to rebuild the Catholic Church, ruined during the Vietnam War.

Gia Long had a long-standing friendly toward Christians, owning by the debt from Pigneau de Béhaine, a French Bishop who helped organize the anti-Tây Sơn force to finally retake Vietnam from the opponent.

However, after Gia Long's death, Emperor Minh Mạng returned to traditional persecution of Christians, revoked many of his father's policies.

[9] The persecution only stopped when Cochinchina Campaign and French conquest forced Emperor Tự Đức to accept the presence of Christians.

Before the independence of Vietnam there already existed, since 1925, an Apostolic Delegation (a non-diplomatic mission accredited to the Catholic Church in the area) for Indochina, based in Hanoi.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng and Pope Benedict XVI met at the Vatican on 25 January 2007 in a "new and important step towards establishing diplomatic ties".

The sides continued discussions about the possibility of establishing normal diplomatic relations, but have not provided a specific schedule for the exchange of ambassadors.