La Vang or Lavang is a location in Quảng Trị Province,

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 ...

. It is the site of the

Minor Basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

of Our Lady of La Vang (Đức Mẹ La Vang), 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 ...

sanctuary, commemorating a vision of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

that was seen there in 1798. The site has been rebuilt on several occasions and is an important site of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

for Catholics in Vietnam, as well as for the Catholic Overseas Vietnamese community. Many Vietnamese Catholic parishes throughout the world are named for Our Lady of La Vang.

The Shrine

The Apparition Shrine, which was the area where Our Lady appeared, had a recent renovation in 2008. Areas surrounding the shrine including the Main Sanctuary Gate, were renovated. The La Vang Boarding House was also recently constructed to accommodate the pilgrims.

Our Lady of La Vang

(In Vietnamese:Đức Mẹ La Vang) The tradition of Our Lady of La Vang dates back to the time when Catholics were executed in Vietnam. Many people sought refuge in the rain forest of La Vang, and many became very ill. They were praying when a lady appeared, wearing the traditional Vietnamese ''

áo dài The (English pronunciation: ; (''North''), (''South'')) is a Vietnamese national garment worn by both sexes but most commonly by women. Besides suits and dresses nowadays, men and women can also wear áo dài on formal occasions. It is a ...

'' dress and holding a child in her arms, with two angels beside her. The people present interpreted the vision as the Virgin Mary and the infant

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. They said that Our Lady comforted them and told them to boil leaves from the trees for medicine to cure the illness. In 1961, the Catholic bishops of Vietnam selected the Church of La Vang as the National Sacred Marian Centre. In 1962,

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

declared the Church the

Basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

of La Vang. Though there is no official

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

recognition of this event as a

Marian apparition A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance by Mary, the mother of Jesus, or a series of related such appearances during a period of time. In the Catholic Church, in order for a reported appearance to be classified as a Marian a ...

, on June 19, 1988,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

publicly recognized the importance of Our Lady of La Vang and expressed desire to rebuild the La Vang Basilica in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the first vision.Our Lady of La Vang in Vietnam (1798), by courtesy of Kim-Oanh Nguyen-Lam, Our Lady of La Salette and Saint Joseph Church. But Pope John Paul II affirmed that there has been no documentation in the Vatican of Our Lady's Apparitions in La Van

References

{{coord, 16, 43, N, 107, 14, E, display=title, region:VN_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Populated places in Quảng Trị province Catholic Church in Vietnam Shrines to the Virgin Mary Roman Catholic shrines in Vietnam