Jean Baptiste Bùi Tuần

The Most Reverend; Jean Baptiste Bùi Tuần
	Bishop of Long Xuyên
	Bishop Tuần for his 41st anniversary as bishop, in 2016 Bishop Tuần for his 41st anniversary as bishop, in 2016
Native name	Gioan Baotixita Bùi Tuần
Church	Catholic
Province	Sài Gòn
See	Long Xuyên
Appointed	15 April 1975 (as Coadjutor)
Installed	30 December 1997
Term ended	2 October 2003
Predecessor	Michael Nguyễn Khắc Ngữ
Successor	Joseph Trân Xuân Tiéu
Previous posts	Coadjutor Bishop of Long Xuyên and Titular Bishop of Tabunia (1975–1997)
Orders
Ordination	2 September 1955
Consecration	30 April 1975; by Michel Nguyễn Khắc Ngư
Rank	Bishop Emeritus
Personal details
Born	24 June 1928; Cam Lai, Tonkin, French Indochina
Died	27 July 2024 (aged 96); Long Xuyên, Vietnam
Denomination	Catholic
Motto	Mandatum novum; (A new command); (Giới luật mới)

Jean Baptiste Bùi Tuần (24 June 1928 – 27 July 2024) was a Vietnamese Roman Catholic bishop who served as the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Long Xuyên from 1997 to 2003.

Biography

Jean Baptiste Bùi Tuần was born on 24 June 1928^[1] in the commune of Cam Lai, now Đông Cơ, Tiền Hải District, Thai Binh Province, Vietnam, to poor but devout peasant parents.^[2]^[3]

Bishop Jean-Baptiste Bùi Tuần died in Long Xuyên, Vietnam on 27 July 2024, at the age of 96.^[4]

Education and Priesthood

In 1954, following the division of Vietnam, he fled to Hong Kong, where he was ordained a priest on 2 September 1955. He returned to southern Vietnam and was sent to Rome for further studies. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in philosophy, he was sent to Switzerland, where he earned a doctorate in philosophy, and completed his studies in Germany. Upon returning to his homeland, he was appointed director of the major seminary of Long Xuyên and a teacher at the seminary in Rạch Giá. In the following years, he dedicated his pastoral service to caring for refugees amidst the backdrop of the civil war.

Episcopal ministry

On 15 April 1975, Pope Paul VI appointed him as the coadjutor bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Long Xuyên. He was consecrated a bishop on 30 April of the same year by Bishop Michael Nguyễn Khắc Ngữ, almost in secret while the Vietnam People's Army captured Saigon and Vietnam was reunified under the Communist government of Hanoi.^[5] He succeeded to the same position on 30 December 1997, and remained in office for almost six years until his retirement due to age limits on 2 October 2003.^[6] He is also known in his homeland for his activity as a writer, having published several texts and collections of poems, as well as his main work Thao thức (translatable as "Restlessness"), a series of five volumes published in 2007.^[7]