A grand funeral was held at the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica in District 1, before thousands joined a kilometer-long procession to accompany his body as it was marched from the church to a nearby pastoral center on Ton Duc Thang Street.

Doc’s body remained there until 8:00 am on Saturday, when a Requiem Mass was held for the repose of his soul as per Catholic rituals.

He was buried the same day at a chapel inside the Minor Seminary of Saigon, next to the graves of his predecessors, which was his wish.

A portrait of late Archbishop Paul Bui Van Doc is seen outside the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica in Ho Chi Minh City where his funeral is held on March 16, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Paul Bui Van Doc served as archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City from 2014 until his death on March 7, 2018 at the age of 74.

The archbishop was attending Mass at the Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls in Rome last Wednesday when he suffered a stroke and was rushed to a local hospital, where he drew his last breath later the same day.

Doc was on an Ad Limina visit to Vatican with 32 other members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam, during which they met with Pope Francis to report on the state of their dioceses.

Paul Bui Van Doc was born in 1944 in the city of Da Lat in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region.

He was ordained in 1970 and consecrated in 1999.

On March 22, 2014, Doc succeeded Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man as the Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City upon the latter's resignation due to advanced age.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh (third right) arrives at the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica in Ho Chi Minh City to pay tribute to the body of late Archbishop Paul Bui Van Doc, March 16, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Thousands join a procession to accompany the body of late Archbishop Paul Bui Van Doc as it is marched from the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica to a nearby pastoral center in Ho Chi Minh City, March 16, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Thousands join a procession to accompany the body of late Archbishop Paul Bui Van Doc as it is marched from the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica to a nearby pastoral center in Ho Chi Minh City, March 16, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

A woman holds a candle during the funeral of late Ho Chi Minh City Archbishop Paul Bui Van Doc in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, March 16, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Thousands join a procession to accompany the body of late Archbishop Paul Bui Van Doc as it is marched from the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica to a nearby pastoral center in Ho Chi Minh City, March 16, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Thousands join a procession to accompany the body of late Archbishop Paul Bui Van Doc as it is marched from the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica to a nearby pastoral center in Ho Chi Minh City, March 16, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Thousands join a procession to accompany the body of late Archbishop Paul Bui Van Doc as it is marched from the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica to a nearby pastoral center in Ho Chi Minh City, March 16, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

A portrait of late Archbishop Paul Bui Van Doc is seen during a procession of his body from the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica to a nearby pastoral center in Ho Chi Minh City, March 16, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Thousands join a procession to accompany the body of late Archbishop Paul Bui Van Doc as it is marched from the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica to a nearby pastoral center in Ho Chi Minh City, March 16, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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