2010-03-23 14:47:02

Vietnam to have largest Marian Shrine.


(March 23, 2010) In Vietnam, the National Marian Shrine of La Vang will be the largest church in the country, capable of accommodating 5 thousand faithful, said the Secretary of the Committee for the Sacred Art of the Vietnamese bishops' conference. Fr. Vincent Pham Trung Thanh, provincial superior of the Redemptorists said it will not only be a work of modern and beautiful architecture, but also the expression of the architecture and culture of our country. Built in 1798, the goal for centuries of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese, the shrine was destroyed several times, most recently in 1972, during the war. Next year , construction will begin of what will become a national centre for pilgrimages. Already on March 8, architects and construction firms were presented with the requirements for the projects to be submitted.
In April, last year, Archbishop Etienne Nguyen Nhu of Hue, thanks to negotiations with the government, has been able to regain access to almost all of the land, formerly belonging to the Marian shrine of approximately 34 hectares. The authorities have also accepted the idea of creating a pilgrimage centre for the Catholic Church in Vietnam on the grounds. The project, laid out by the archbishop, must allow space for, besides the great basilica, a conference centre with 3 thousand seats, a chapel for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, a place for confession and a large retreat centre. The government, for its part, will ensure the implementation of roads and other infrastructure. On 22 August 1961, Pope John XXIII promoted the shrine to a basilica.














All the contents on this site are copyrighted ©.