Phủ Cam Cathedral ( vi, Nhà thờ Phủ Cam; french: Cathédrale de Phu Cam) is a

Latin Catholic , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

cathedral in

Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...

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 ...

, and seat of the Archdiocese of Huế. It is one of the biggest churches in the city.

History

The cathedral was built on a hill where an orange plantation once stood. Construction started on the property in 1963 with further additions in 2000. Built in the style of

modern architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that for ...

, it was designed by the architect

Ngô Viết Thụ Ngô Viết Thụ (17 September 1927 – 3 September 2000) was a Vietnamese architect. Ngô Viết Thụ was born on 17 September 1927 in Thừa Thiên, French Indochina. He married Võ Thị Cơ and had eight children, one of whom, Dr. Ngô Vi ...

. Supporting concrete pillars were built close to the walls and gradually bent. Each of the four corners has three such pillars, creating a fairly large space inside the building. The interior of the cathedral was built following classical Catholic tradition. There are two rows of coloured glass windows located in the upper interior of the cathedral. Inside, there is a cross made of steel and concrete on a round pillar. The cathedral has a marble altar located in a small round-shaped space. The building has two wings extending to the right and left; the tomb of the former archbishop

Philippe Nguyên-Kim-Diên Philippe is a masculine sometimes feminin given name, cognate to Philip. It may refer to: * Philippe of Belgium (born 1960), King of the Belgians (2013–present) * Philippe (footballer) (born 2000), Brazilian footballer * Prince Philippe, Count ...

(1921–1988) is on the left and a shrine presenting a saint is on the right. In front of the building are two statues: Saint Phero is on the right and on the left is Saint Paulo and other missionaries of the Phu Cam diocese. The Ministry of Tourism describes the cathedral as such: "The open-space of Phu Cam main cathedral looks like an opening-mouth-dragon and in general Phu Cam cathedral with its top perpendicularly stretching to the sky is very purified and full of artistic and religious character". Construction of the cathedral took nearly 40 years. An older church was torn down and the construction of the new cathedral started in 1960. During construction, a coup took place during which President

Ngo Dinh Diem Ngô Đình Diệm ( or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician. He was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955), and then served as the first president of South Vietnam (Republic o ...

was killed. Archbishop Ngo Dinh Thuc was in Rome at the time and was unable to return to Vietnam because of the political situation. The construction was still taking place in 1968 when it was heavily damaged by bombing during the

Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the force ...

. Construction was delayed and ultimately abandoned after 1975. Construction was completed in May 2000, with the official consecration taking place during the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul on 28 and 29 June 2000. Saints Peter and Paul are the patrons of the parish. The Residential Delegation to Vietnam of the Head of the Vatican, the Pope, (which oversaw Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos together) was built next to the former cathedral in Huế (that was demolished to make way for the current Phủ Cam Cathedral) on May 20, 1925. This office was then moved to Hanoi in 1951. Over 400 people supportive of the South Vietnamese government were rounded up at the cathedral in February 1968 by the

Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

, when they were led to the creek and shot dead. A new pastoral house was opened at the cathedral on October 8, 2014, with Archbishop Francis Xavier Lê Văn Hồng hosting a ribbon-cutting and blessing ceremony for the inauguration of the pastoral house. It was built with money collected in the area and from benefactors abroad.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phủ Cam Cathedral Roman Catholic cathedrals in Vietnam 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Vietnam

History

See also

References