Nha Trang Cathedral
The Roman Catholic Cathedral of Christ the King is the episcopal church of the Vietnamese diocese of Nha Trang in southern Vietnam in the city of Nha Trang on the coast of the South China Sea, which has existed since 1960 . The parish of Nha Trang was founded in 1886 by French missionaries.
The foundation stone of the parish church was laid on September 3, 1928 during the French colonial period by Father Louis Vallet (1869-1945), who belonged to the Order Missions étrangères de Paris and whose tomb is at the foot of the cathedral. In order to create a level construction site of approx. 4,500 m² on the hill, 500 explosive charges were required. The church was consecrated at Easter 1930. The congregation belonged to the Vicariate Apostolic Quinhon . In March 1934, the lead-glazed colored windows were installed, depicting scenes from the life of Jesus Christ and St. Joan of Arc .
Three large church bells made by Bourdons Carillons (founded in 1786) were consecrated in July 1934 and October 1939. The church tower clock dates from 1935.
The construction of the cathedral, which is designed in neo-Gothic style, was made of high quality reinforced concrete. At its highest point, the church reaches 38 meters above street level. The cathedral is in good condition.
Pope Pius XII founded the Apostolic Vicariate Nha Trang on July 5, 1957 from cessions of territory of the Apostolic Vicariate Quinhon and the Archdiocese of Saigon. In 1960 the vicariate was elevated to a diocese (Latin Dioecesis Nhatrangensis ), which in 2013 comprised a total of 69 parishes with around 200,000 believers. This represents a remarkably high proportion of the population of over 10% in socialist Vietnam. Joseph Võ Đức Minh has been Bishop of the diocese of Nha Trang since December 4th, 2009 .
Web links
- Christ the King Cathedral on the website of the Vietnamese Bishops' Conference, accessed March 1, 2017
- Nha Trang Cathedral , accessed March 1, 2017
Coordinates: 12 ° 14 '48.4 " N , 109 ° 11' 17.3" E