La Vang or Lavang is a location in Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam. It is the site of the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of La Vang (Đức Mẹ La Vang), a Catholic sanctuary, commemorating a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her reputed Marian apparition in 1798.

It’s Đức Mẹ La Vang, Our Lady of La Vang. Spending time with Vietnamese Catholics over the years, I saw images and statues of Đức Mẹ La Vang often, yet never gave her much thought other than finding quite interesting that the Vietnamese has their own Marian apparition.

On August 30, 2012, a three-alarm fire destroyed Saint Patrick’s Proto Cathedral. In 2013, Bishop Patrick J. McGrath re-named the church Our Lady of La Vang after the approved apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Vietnamese martyrs who died during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Our Lady of La Vang Shrine is dedicated to the 1798 Marian apparition within the rainforest of La Vang, Quảng Trị Province, in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. At the time, the Catholic people of Vietnam were suffering persecution, with many being martyred for their faith.

The shrine’s centerpiece is a 12-foot tall Virgin Mary statue resembling how the Blessed Mother is believed to have appeared before a group of persecuted Vietnamese Catholics in 1798 in a rainforest of Vietnam. Since then, Our Lady of La Vang has represented hope, faith and promise to Vietnamese Catholics around the world.

Oct 25, 2023 · There is no official Vatican recognition of this Marian apparition but in 1998, Pope John Paul II publicly recognised 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.

Even in the absence of official Vatican recognition of the apparition, the pope publicly recognized the importance of Our Lady of La Vang. The La Vang Catholic festival, known as kieu in Vietnamese, is held every year on August 15, attracting thousands of visitors year by year.

Jul 8, 2019 · The chapel of Our Lady of La Vang stands in memory of the persecution of Vietnamese Catholics during the 18 th century. Fearing for their lives, they fled from the local villages and parishes to the nearby jungle, known as the La Vang region.

Apr 12, 2018 · Our Lady appeared to the Vietnamese parishioners in moments of extreme misery, culminating in La Vang. La Vang is a name derived from the name of a deep forest in central Vietnam (now Quang Tri town), where there are many …

May 29, 2024 · They proclaimed the Lady of La Vang as the protectorate of the Catholics. A growing number of pilgrims led to the construction of a larger church in 1924. In 1961, Lavang became a national Marian site.