HUNG-HOA, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF. — Located in the interior regions of northern Tonkin, it was erected on 15 Dec. 1895 under the name of Upper Tonkin, detached from the Apostolic Vicariate of Western Tonkin. It assumed its present name on 3 Dec. 1924.
Its territory of 60,000 sq. km. comprises the civil provinces of Son-Tay, Phu-Tho, Yen-Bai, Tuyen-Quang, Hoa-Binh, Son-La, Lao-Kay. In the province of Phu-Tho is the city of H.-H., which is the residence of the Ordinary. It is entrusted to the Fathers of the Paris Foreign Missions Society. In the flat part of the territory the inhabitants are all of Annamite stock, while in the mountainous zone the inhabitants, still rustic and nomadic, are divided into three tribes: Tho, Man, Meo. Many believe in metempsychosis, and for this reason it is common to find food offerings near the tombs. Out of a population of 1,202,000, Catholics number 68,000 with 4,383 catechumens; pagans amount to 1,134,000. There are 56 Annamite priests and 22 foreign priests; 65 Annamite sisters and 4 foreign sisters; 93 catechists and 14 teachers. A minor seminary with 120 pupils and 9 major seminarians studying outside the mission; 37 quasi-parishes; 6 primary stations and 478 secondary ones; 62 churches and 437 chapels; 62 elementary schools with 1,845 male and 369 female pupils; 4 hospitals with 70 beds, 4 dispensaries with 12,450 consultations per year; 4 orphanages with 85 boys and 70 girls; 4 homes for the elderly with 90 residents; a leper asylum with 190 inmates.