Cửa Bắc Church ("Northern Gate Church", vi, Nhà thờ Cửa Bắc, french: Église Cửa Bắc) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church in

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. Originally named as ''Church of Martyrs' Lady'' ( vi, Nhà thờ Nữ Vương Các Thánh Tử Đạo), the church was built in 1932 by the French administration of

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

as a part of the Hanoi's

urban plan Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

supervised by

Ernest Hébrard Ernest Hébrard (1875–1933) was a French architect, archaeologist and urban planner, best known for his urban plan for the center of Thessaloniki, Greece, after the great fire of 1917. Background Hebrard studied at the École des Beaux- ...

. Today, Cửa Bắc Church is one of the three major churches of Hanoi, together with Hàm Long Church and

Saint Joseph Cathedral St. Joseph's Cathedral is the name of numerous cathedral churches that are named for Saint Joseph. Africa Tanzania * Saint Joseph's Cathedral, Dar es Salaam * St. Joseph's Cathedral, Zanzibar Asia Bangladesh * St Joseph's Cathedral, Kh ...

. In November 2006, Cửa Bắc Church became the venue of a joint worship service of Vietnamese Catholics and Protestants with the participation of

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

president

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, who was on an official visit to Vietnam.

History

In the early 1920s, the French architect

began his urban plan to redesign the city of Hanoi, as a part of this plan, a new Roman Catholic church named Church of Martyrs (french: Église des Martyrs) was built in front of the Northern Gate (Cửa Bắc) of the ancient

Hanoi Citadel Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

in 1932. Because of its location, the church was more commonly known as Cửa Bắc Church. Ernest Hébrard designed Cửa Bắc Church in

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

style with strong influence of

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

decoration. He also integrated in the church some elements of traditional architecture in Vietnam such as the system of

roof tiles Roof tiles are designed mainly to keep out rain, and are traditionally made from locally available materials such as terracotta or slate. Modern materials such as concrete, metal and plastic are also used and some clay tiles have a waterproof ...

and the harmony between the main architecture with its surrounding green space. For that reason, Cửa Bắc Church is considered a fine example for the mixed style between European and Vietnamese architectures. Originally planned to be named ''Vietnamese Martyrs'', the title of the church was changed to ''Queen of Martyrs'' because at that time, the

Vietnamese Martyrs The Vietnamese Martyrs ( Vietnamese: ''Các Thánh Tử đạo Việt Nam''; French: ''Martyrs du Viêt Nam''), also known as the Martyrs of Annam, Martyrs of Tonkin and Cochinchina, Martyrs of Indochina, or Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions (Anrê D ...

was not yet canonized. In 1959, the Apostolic Vicar Joseph-Marie Trịnh Như Khuê re-titled it as the Church of ''Our Lady of Hanoi''. The feast day of the church's title is July 2, the old date for Visitation. Today, Cửa Bắc Church is one of the three major churches of Hanoi, together with Hàm Long Church and

. In November 2006, Cửa Bắc Church was chosen the venue of a joint congregation of the Vietnamese Catholics and Protestants with participation of the

President

, who was on an official visit to Vietnam. After the service, the President remarked: "Laura and I just had a moment to converse with God in a church here in Hanoi. We were touched by the simplicity and the beauty of the moment. We appreciate very much the congregation for allowing us to come and worship with them."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cua Bac Church Roman Catholic churches in Hanoi Roman Catholic churches completed in 1932 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Vietnam