Entree Kibbles: Exterior of Saint Joseph Cathedral @ Hanoi in Vietnam

Walking from Bonsella Hotel towards Hanoi's oldest church, the natural tree canopy along the road did a great job hiding the full splendor of the building until it slowly loomed in front of you as you near.

Built between 1884 and 1886, the church was built in the neo-gothic style and served as the headquarters of Archdiocese of Vietnam; controlling "over 480 churches and chapels".

The first thing that came to mind when I was in front of it, was its similarity to a 2-dimensional monochrome art piece that betrayed the mere fact that the church was 64.5 meters deep!

While dedicated to St. Joseph, it's common to find a statue of Virgin Mary in catholic churches. In this case, there was a copper statue of the mother of Jesus, holding on to a child. The Latin words, Regina Pacis, mean Queen of Peace.

At a height of 31.5 meters and a width of 20.5 meters, the two towers by the side housed the bells, five in each tower. Church exterior was said to be made of granite but it had a very raw, concrete feel to it.

During the early Communist regime in Vietnam, the church was closed. It finally opened its doors again during Christmas in 1990 and currently served the Catholic population in Vietnam, which numbers around 400,000.

Clock and statue of Saint Joseph, I believe.

Would the main, wooden doors ever open?

Yes, they supposedly would for Mass.

For other times, you can only open from the side gate. Do note that they are open only from 8am till 11am and from 2pm till 5pm. I didn't manage to explore the insides as I couldn't never meet the timings, despite staying pretty near the church.

I was all ready to walk in when the gates closed on us.

Oh well, excuses to visit Hanoi again.

More photographs for your viewing pleasure.

The area in front of the church was known to have a few touts for trishaw rides and it's up to you to negotiate for an acceptable price. However, scams were common and you may read here to find out more.

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