Thục's elder brother, Khôi, served as a governor and mandarin of the French-controlled Emperor Bảo Đại's administration.

[2] Diệm was released, but Khôi was subsequently shot by the Việt Minh as part of the August Revolution of 1945 (and not buried alive as is sometimes stated).

[1] In 1950 Diệm and Thục applied for permission to travel to Rome for the Holy Year celebrations at the Vatican but went instead to Japan to lobby Prince Cường Để to enlist support to seize power.

Diệm then managed an audience with Pope Pius XII in Rome with his brother's help, and then settled in the US as a guest of the Maryknoll Fathers.

[7] As French power in Vietnam declined, Diệm's support in America, which Thục helped to nurture, made his stock rise.

[8] In October 1955, Diệm deposed Bảo Đại in a fraudulent referendum organised by Nhu and declared himself President of the newly proclaimed Republic of Vietnam, which then concentrated power in the Ngô family, who were dedicated Roman Catholics in a Buddhist majority country.

The government was biased towards Catholics in public service and military promotions, as well as the allocation of land, business favors and tax concessions.

[16] Thục, the most powerful religious leader in the country, was allowed to solicit "voluntary contributions to the Church" from Saigon businessmen, which was likened to "tax notices".

[17] Thục also used his position to acquire farms, businesses, urban real estate, rental property and rubber plantations for the Catholic Church.

The synchronized military operations, the speed at which banners were erected declaring the ARVN resolve to defeat communism, and doctored propaganda photos purporting to show Viet Cong infiltration of the Buddhists suggested that the actions were long premeditated.

[30] A Swiss priest Thục formerly knew in Écône, Switzerland,[31] Father Maurice Revaz, former Chancellor of the Swiss Diocese of Sion and professor of canon law in Ecône at the International Seminary of Saint Pius X of the traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), came to Thục and invited him to go to Spain, saying that the Blessed Virgin Mary wanted him to render her a service.

[34] After Domínguez proclaimed himself Pope with the name of "Gregory XVII", Thục distanced himself from the Palmarian sect, apologized for his actions and reconciled with the Catholic Church.

[35] On 17 October, Thục consecrated the two Mexican sedevacantist priests and former seminary professors Moisés Carmona and Adolfo Zamora as bishops.

[26] On 21 March, Laetare Sunday, he publicly proclaimed this declaration during a Pontifical High Mass in Sankt Michael Church in Munich.

Thục began to be increasingly sought out by the expatriate and refugee Vietnamese community, including old friends and contacts from Huế and Saigon.