(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.