The major seminaries are namely Saint Joseph Major Seminary in Hanoi, Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Thai Binh, Immaculate Conception Major Seminary of Bui Chu in Nam Dinh, Vinh Thanh Major Seminary in Nghe An, Saint Sulpice Major Seminary in Hue, Maris Stella Major Seminary in Nha Trang, Saint Joseph Major Seminary in Ho Chi Minh City, Saint Joseph Major Seminary of Xuan Loc in Dong Nai and Saint Quí Major Seminary in Cần Thơ.

Oldest seminaries in Vietnam included the Saint Sulpice Major Seminary in Hue established in 1740, the Saint Joseph Major Seminary in Ho Chi Minh City (formally Saigon) founded in 1860 and the Saint Joseph Major Seminary in Hanoi established in 1932.

The Sacred Heart Major Seminary under Thai Binh Diocese in the northern province of the same name is the latest training institution of the Catholic Church established in Vietnam, approved and beginning the school year in 2020.

According to some Catholic dignitaries, religious trainings at these major seminaries have been increasingly improved for recent years and the Catholic Church in Vietnam is one of Catholic churches in Asia and as well as in the world having highest numbers of seminarians; those applied for Catholic major seminaries in Vietnam always surpass targeted numbers.

However, most of seminarians graduating from these seminaries have not instantly been recognized as holders of the bachelor decree by the Holy See and the Catholic Church in other countries, because the major seminaries in Vietnam have not had enough theological professors for offering all basic teachings as regulated by the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education. Therefore, seminarians sent by the Vietnam Catholic Church to foreign countries for further studies have to take additional subjects for completing the bachelor decree before applying for post-graduation studies.

Currently, some training institutions, including Maris Stella Major Seminary in Nha Trang and institutions of the Dominic and Jesus congregations have collaborated with Catholic training institutions in the Philippines and Italia, which have been approved by the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education for their bachelor-decree training and certification, in order to provide the qualified training and certification for the bachelor decree, contributing to meet training requirements regulated by the Church.

In addition, the Law on Belief and Religion (2016) currently requests training institutions of religious organizations in general, and Catholic major seminaries in particular, to teach the two subjects of Vietnam Law and History with contents regulated by concerning authorities of Vietnam.