Basilica of Our Lady of La Vang

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Church Before Destruction (1967)
preserved tower of the basilica (2013)

The Basilica of Our Lady of La Vang ( Vietnamese Ðền thơ Đức Mẹ La Vang ) is the center of the Roman Catholic national shrine of Vietnam , significant to the Vietnamese around the world. The ruined church in the Archdiocese of Huế is consecrated to Our Lady of La Vang , patron saint of Vietnam, and bears the title of a minor basilica . The church in the La Vang jungle is located in the province of Quang Tri in central Vietnam, 50 kilometers northwest of Huế .

Persecution of Christians and the apparition of Mary

Emperor Canh Thinh wanted to prevent the spread of Catholicism. With edicts, he severely restricted the practice of Christian religion in the country, after which the Catholics partly fled into the jungle of La Vang, where many fell sick and many others died. The congregation met at the foot of a tree every night to pray the rosary . There was an apparition of Mary there in 1798 , the Madonna of La Vang. One night the refugees were unexpectedly visited by a beautiful woman who wore a long coat, was holding a child and had two angels by her side. They recognized the Virgin Mary in the lady. Even if the apparition of Mary was not confirmed later by the Vatican, the believers soon built a small chapel. Additional apparitions of Mary during the persecution of Christians were reported over a period of nearly a century.

Church building

In 1886, after the persecution officially ceased, Vicar Louis Caspar ordered the construction of a church in honor of Our Lady of La Vang. Due to its remote location and limited financial resources, it took 15 years to complete La Vang Church. It was inaugurated by Louis Caspar between August 6 and 8, 1901 in a solemn ceremony attended by more than 12,000 people. The bishop proclaimed Our Lady of La Vang as the protector of Catholics.

In 1928 a larger church than the previous one was built to accommodate a greater number of pilgrims. In August 1962, Pope John XXIII raised the church of La Vang to the rank of minor basilica . During the Vietnam War, the basilica was destroyed except for the tower in 1972. On June 19, 1988 Pope John Paul II canonized 117 Vietnamese martyrs and emphasized the importance of Our Lady of La Vang. He expressed a desire to rebuild the basilica. On November 27, 2000, the Shrine of Notre Dame de La Vang was blessed by Archbishop Thomas Cajetan Kelly . In 2008 the environment was restored and a pilgrim house was built.

On August 15, 2012 (Day of the Virgin of La Vang) the foundation stone of the future basilica was erected and the new sanctuary will have a typical Vietnamese architecture.

Web links

Commons : Basilica of La Vang  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ðền thơ Đức Mẹ La Vang . In: gcatholic.org
  2. ↑ a b c Our Lady of La vang . In: Catholic Pilgrimage Network
  3. ^ The Catholics of Viet Nam Pay Homage to Our Lady of La Vang . In: L'Osservatore Romano, 32/33 (12/19 August 1998)

Coordinates: 11 ° 45 ′ 15.1 ″  N , 108 ° 47 ′ 34.8 ″  E