DOI
10.32436/2475-6423.1131
Abstract
The sanctuary of Our Lady of La Vang (OLLV) reveals the role of popular devotion in Vietnamese Catholicism. It manifests the recent strategy from Vietnamese Church leaders to maintain a public presence with an emphasis on reinforcing a sense of Catholic identity through popular devotion and liturgy. Devotion to OLLV then reflects the interaction of several factors: the promotion of the clergy, political influence, and the collaboration of the Vietnamese Catholic laity. Building on existing scholarship that focuses on the cultural inheritance and collective identity of Vietnamese Catholics around the world, this paper explores the case study of the basilica of OLLV with an emphasis on the rituals and the institutional church’s strategy to promote the popular site. It argues that Mary’s presence at La Vang, as seen in pilgrim literature, and some devotional forms such as Marian Procession, Rosary, and Eucharist Adoration, as a living mother for pilgrims. More specifically, the Marian procession, oral prayers during the night, and the night performance-based prayer reflect the journey of Vietnamese Catholic pilgrims to their mother’s house. This lively devotion to Mother Mary expresses the clergy’s effort to journey with the nation and the Vietnamese Catholics and at the same time, reflects the role of the believers who keep the devotion alive.
Recommended Citation
Trang, Dung Ph.D., LHC Khiet Tam
(2023)
"Our Lady of La Vang Journeys with the Nation: Marian Devotion and Pilgrimage in Vietnam,"
Journal of Global Catholicism:
Vol. 7:
Iss.
2, Article 5. p.84-115.
DOI: 10.32436/2475-6423.1131
Available at:
https://crossworks.holycross.edu/jgc/vol7/iss2/5
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