The Vietnamese Chapel is dedicated to Our Lady of La Vang. Our Lady appeared in the La Vang forest in 1798 during a terrible persecution of the Catholic Christians. They tried to escape the persecution by taking refuge in the forest, enduring bitter cold, wild animals and starvation. At night the people would gather in the forest and pray the Rosary One night, Our Lady appeared with two angels at her side. She told all those present, they all saw her, that from then on, anyone who came to that place to pray would have their prayers answered. She also told them to boil leaves from the surrounding trees and use them as medicine. The Popes over the years have repeatedly publicly recognised the significance of La Vang for the Vietnamese people.
Our Lady of La Vang Vietnam
In 1798, Our Lady appeared to some people in La Vang in the province of Quang Tri. She came to console these people suffering persecution because of their Catholic faith during the reign of Emperor Canh Thinh.
In the Marian Year of 1958, which was the centenary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes, La Vang attracted some 600,000 people to visit Our Lady there.
In 1960 the Vietnamese Bishops’ Conference chose the Church of Our Lady of La Vang as the National Marian Centre.
On 22nd August 1961, Pope John XXIII raised the Church of Our Lady of La Vang to the dignity of a basilica.
Our Lady of La Vang prayer for us.
The Vietnamese Martyrs
In the 16th Century, missionary endeavour resounded in Vietnam. The first seeds of the gospel took root and gradually burst into flower. Many people heard the Word of the Lord and welcomed the gospel. The first Christian Community was established, but this infant Church was to undergo violent and terrifying persecutions for 300 years.
The persecution of religion in Vietnam was no less severe than that of the ancient Roman Empire. From 1627 until 1886, the Vietnamese Emperors forbade the Christian faith by prohibition, pursuit, imprisonment, torture, fearful penal servitude and every kind of cruelty: beheading, hanging, crucifixion, hanging to death, being trampled to death by an elephant, and so many other types of terrible torture, but Christians were willing to suffer courageously and triumph.
The number of Christians who held firm to their faith in the face of persecution to the shedding of their blood is some 130,000. Amongst those, there are 117 who were canonised in Rome by Pope John Paul II on 19th June 1988. Also, the catechist Andrew Phu Yen, the first Vietnamese martyr, was canonised in Rome by Pope John Paul II on 5th March 2000. The Church celebrates their feast on 24th November each year.
The canonised Vietnamese Martyrs came from every class of society and included bishops, priests, religious, catechists, leaders and lay people, amongst whom is a mother.
“The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians.” — Tertullian.
All You Holy Vietnamese Martyrs, Prayer For us.