Our Lady of The Vang of the Vietnamese in the United States, venerated by the numerous Vietnamese Catholic community

Marian title of Las Vegas / Orange (California)

La of Our Lady of the Vang was born in Vietnam at the end of the 18th century, in the context of the persecutions against Catholics under Emperor Cħnh Thħnh (Tay Son dynasty). According to tradition, 1798, a group of Catholic refugees in the La Vang forest, in the current province of Quņng Trț, would have received the visit of the Virgin Mary, who consented them, urged them to persevere in the faith and indicated the medicinal use of certain leaves of the trees of the place. This tradition of apparition was kept alive orally among the persecuted communities and became a sign of hope for Vietnamese Catholics.

Main data

Origin and history

La of Our Lady of the Vang was born in Vietnam at the end of the 18th century, in the context of the persecutions against Catholics under Emperor Cħnh Thħnh (Tay Son dynasty). According to tradition, 1798, a group of Catholic refugees in the La Vang forest, in the current province of Quņng Trț, would have received the visit of the Virgin Mary, who consented them, urged them to persevere in the faith and indicated the medicinal use of certain leaves of the trees of the place. This tradition of apparition was kept alive orally among the persecuted communities and became a sign of hope for Vietnamese Catholics.

As for the documented historyThe place of La Vang was consolidated as a pilgrimage centre during the 19th century, and in the 20th century it received increasing official recognition. In 1961the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam has chosen the church of Our Lady of the Vang as National Sanctuary in honor of the Immaculate Conception. In 1961–1962 the pope Juan XXIII raised the temple to the range of minor basilica, thus consolidating its importance as the main Marian sanctuary of Vietnam. From the Vietnamese diaspora, especially after the Vietnam war, devotion to Our Lady of La Vang spread to the Vietnamese communities in America, Europe and Oceania, and is especially venerated where there are Vietnamese parishes or pastoral centres.

En United Statesthe numerous Vietnamese Catholic community has carried with it this devotion, and in places like the Orange County (California) y Las Vegas (Nevada) temples and communities have been erected where Our Lady of the Vang is honored according to the Latin Roman ritewith celebrations and pilgrimages of the diaspora. However, the specific historical details (exact founding date, canonical status of a formal "sanctuary" in Orange or Las Vegas with this title) do not consist in a unified and documented manner in diocesan sources or officers of easy consultation; instead, it does consist of a constant presence of image and devotion in local Vietnamese communities.

The image and the sanctuary

La iconografía de Our Lady of La Vang it has been fixed from the original sanctuary in Vietnam and is reproduced in a very similar way in the temples of the diaspora. The Virgin is often represented standing, with the Child Jesus in armsboth covered with long pond (traditional Vietnamese suit) and the characteristic conical or circular hat (non lá or stylized variations), thus stressing the inculturation of the faith in the Vietnamese people. Many images are polychrome sculptures or wood carving, although there are also reliefs and devotional paintings; anywhere where mass is held for Vietnamese migrants it is often found "an image of this Virgin with the Child."

In the United States, especially in the Orange County (California) y en Las Vegas, devotion is expressed in Vietnamese parishes or pastoral centres where an image of Our Lady of La Vang has been enthroned. However, the sources consulted do not officially contain a "National Sanctuary" of Our Lady of La Vang in the United States recognized by the Episcopal Conference, nor that the local churches of Orange or Las Vegas with this title have the canonical title of minor basilica o National sanctuary. Therefore, at the canonical level, no consta that the temples of this advocation in Orange or Las Vegas have received a specific legal title beyond being parishes, chapels or devotional centers where the Vietnamese community honors the Virgin under this advocation.

Sponsorship and coronation

In Vietnam, the Episcopal Conference considers Our Lady of the Vang as National Sanctuary and links it in a special way to the Immaculate Conception. It is also presented as patron of the Catholics of Vietnam, and in other Asian countries, he has been entrusted with local patronings (for example, in Puerto Princesa and Palawan, Philippines, where he is venerated as local patron). However, with regard specifically to the invocation as we live in United States of America (Orange and Las Vegas), no consta in the sources consulted an official proclamation of Our Lady of La Vang as patron of a specific American diocese, city or state.

As for a canonical coronation (liturgical and legal act by which the Holy See, through a Pontiff or his delegate, crown a concrete image), the sources dedicated to La Vang focus on the recognition of the Vietnamese sanctuary, its elevation to basilica and its role as a national centre. No reference to a canonical coronation specific to the image venerated by the Vietnamese community in the United States (Orange or Las Vegas). Therefore, for this advocation in its American expression, it is necessary to state: does not contain a documented canonical coronation.

Party and devotion

The main feast of Our Lady of La Vang, linked to the sanctuary of Vietnam and taken over by the Vietnamese communities of the diaspora, is celebrated August 15, coinciding with the solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. In some areas, the relationship with the mártires de Vietnam, cuya memoria litúrgica universal es el 24 November (St. Andrew Dħng-Lħc and colleagues), where the advocation of La Vang appears as "queen of the martyrs of Vietnam" in popular piety.

En la Vietnamese community of the United States, devotion is characterized by pilgrimages, novies and Marian vigiloften with mass in Vietnamese, traditional singing, processions with the image of Our Lady of La Vang and very numerous participation around August 15. Several chronicles stress that, where there is mass in Vietnamese for migrants, there is often an image of this Virgin, which indicates her central role in the Vietnamese Catholic identity abroad. Although there is a lack of accurate statistical data for Orange and Las Vegas in particular, the Vietnamese parishes in these areas are among the most active in the diaspora and the presence of the advocation in their celebrations is constant.

Link to the Rosary

The historical sources about The Vang above all describe the consoling apparition in the midst of the persecution and subsequent development of the sanctuary; they do not explicitly mention an original link or a particular privilege related to the prayer of the Rosary (for example, a specific promise or an express order from the Virgin related to this prayer). Therefore, as for a hysterical - specific documentary link between the apparition of La Vang and the Rosary, no consta.

However, the devotional life of the Vietnamese community, the Rosary occupies a very prominent place in the Marian pilgrimages and parties, especially in the shrine of La Vang in Vietnam and in its reproductions in the diaspora. The figure of Our Lady of The Vang, associated with the and to the martyrsIt naturally invites us to contemplate the mysteries of Christ in the hand of Mary, and thus the Rosary becomes a school of patience and hope for those who suffer. In Vietnamese communities of Orange y Las VegasAlthough there is no particular official status of the Rosary linked to this advocation, the usual practice of praying the Rosary before or after the Mass, or in processions and Marian vigil, shows how this prayer accompanies and feeds devotion to Our Lady of La Vang in and