[5] This writing system continues to be used today, and is called chữ Quốc ngữ (literally "national language script").

Meanwhile, the traditional chữ Nôm, in which Girolamo Maiorica was an expert, was the main script conveying Catholic faith to Vietnamese until the late 19th century.

Other missionaries active in pre-modern Vietnam were Franciscans (in Cochinchina), Italian Dominicans & Discalced Augustinians (in Eastern Tonkin), and those sent by the Propaganda Fide.

The French missionary priest and Bishop of Adraa Pigneau de Behaine had a significant influence in Vietnamese history towards the end of the 18th century.

Nguyễn Ánh was the most senior member of the family to have survived, and he fled into the Mekong Delta region in the far south, where he met Pigneau.

[8][9] Pigneau reportedly hoped that by playing a role in assisting Ánh attain victory, he would be in position to gain important concessions for the Catholic Church in Vietnam and helping its expansion throughout Southeast Asia.

[23] Gia Long chose him for his strong character and his deeply conservative aversion to Westerners, whereas Cảnh's lineage had converted to Catholicism and were reluctant to maintain their Confucian traditions such as ancestor worship.

[28] Duyệt protected Vietnamese Catholic converts and westerners from Minh Mạng's policies by disobeying the emperor's orders.

[30] Whereas the government officials in central and northern Vietnam complied, Duyệt disobeyed the order and Minh Mạng was forced to bide his time.

[31] Minh Mạng ordered the posthumous humiliation of Duyệt, which resulted in the desecration of his tomb, the execution of sixteen relatives, and the arrests of his colleagues.

In 1836–37 six missionaries were executed: Ignacio Delgado, Dominico Henares, José Fernández, François Jaccard, Jean-Charles Cornay, and Bishop Pierre Borie.

During a 300-day period where the border between the two sides was temporarily open, many North Vietnamese Catholics fled southward out of fear that they would be persecuted by the Viet Minh.

[neutrality is disputed] The government was biased towards Catholics in public service and military promotions, and the allocation of land, business favors and tax concessions.

[48] The distribution of firearms to village self-defense militias intended to repel Việt Cộng guerrillas saw weapons only given to Catholics.

][51][better source needed] Some villages converted en masse in order to receive aid or avoid being forcibly resettled by Diệm's regime.

[52] The Catholic Church was the largest landowner in the country, and its holdings were exempt from reform and given extra property acquisition rights, while restrictions against Buddhism remained in force.

[56] The newly constructed Huế and Đà Lạt universities were placed under Catholic authority to foster a Catholic-influenced academic environment.

The well known Vietnamese Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận, who was imprisoned by the Communist regime from 1975 to 1988 and spent nine years in solitary confinement, was nominated secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and made its president in 1998.

Official Vatican delegations have been traveling to Vietnam almost every year since 1990 for meetings with its government authorities and to visit Catholic dioceses.

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

1946), a dissident Catholic priest, was sentenced by Vietnamese court in Huế to eight years in prison on grounds of "anti-government activities".

Nguyen, who had already spent 14 of the past 24 years in prison, was accused of being a founder of a pro-democracy movement Bloc 8406 and a member of the Progression Party of Vietnam.

[69] On 16 September 2007, the fifth anniversary of the Cardinal Nguyễn Văn Thuận's death, the Catholic Church began the beatification process for him.

In December 2007, thousands of Vietnamese Catholics marched in procession to the former apostolic nunciature in Hanoi and prayed there twice aiming to return the property to the local church.

Later the protests were supported by Catholics in Hồ Chí Minh City and Hà Đông, who made the same demands for their respective territories.