La Vang
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La Vang or Lavang is a locale in Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam. It is the site of the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of La Vang, a Roman Catholic sanctuary, commemorating a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary that was seen there in 1798. The site has been rebuilt on several occasions and is an important site of pilgrimage 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.
[edit] Our Lady of La Vang
(In Vietnamese:Đức Mẹ La Vang)
The tradition of Our Lady of La Vang daes 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 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. They said that Our Lady comforted them and told them to boil leaves from the trees for medicine to cure the ill.
In 1961, the Catholic bishops of Vietnam selected the Church of La Vang as the National Sacred Marian Centre. In 1962, Pope John XXIII declared the Church the Basilica of La Vang. Though there is no official Vatican recognition of this event as a Marian apparition, on June 19, 1988, Pope John Paul II 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.[1]
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