By 1889, Hồ Ngọc Cẩn passed his exam and entered An Ninh Minor Seminary at Cửa Tùng Town, Quảng Trị Province. Two years after entering the Seminary, Seminarian Hồ Ngọc Cẩn was adopted by the priest Eugène Marie Joseph Allys. During the next seven years, Hồ Ngọc Cẩn studied at An Ninh Minor Seminary. On May 5,1896, Hồ Ngọc Cẩn entered and studied at the Major Seminary of Phú Xuân for four years.