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

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. It is the site of the

Minor Basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

Our Lady of La Vang Our Lady of La Vang () refers to a reported Marian apparition at a time when Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Cat ...

(Đức Mẹ La Vang), a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

sanctuary, commemorating a vision of the

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

and her reputed

Marian apparition A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance of Mary, the mother of Jesus. While sometimes described as a type of vision, apparitions are generally regarded as external manifestations, whereas visions are more often understood as ...

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

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

for Catholics in Vietnam and

Overseas Vietnamese Overseas Vietnamese (, , or ) refers to the Vietnamese diaspora living outside of Vietnam. The global overseas Vietnamese population is estimated at 5 to 6 million people. The largest communities are in the United States, with over 2.3 million ...

diaspora with many parishes bearing the namesake Marian title.

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 (; , ) is a modernized Vietnamese national garment consisting of a long split tunic worn over silk trousers. It can serve as formalwear for both men and women. translates as shirt' is derived from a Middle Chinese word () meaning "padded ...

'' 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 (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. 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 (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 on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

declared the Church the

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

of La Vang. Though there is no official

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

recognition of this event as a

, on June 19, 1988,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

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