Our Family Vietnam History and Legacy

Unfortunately, there is no written documentation of these apparitions: such documents were perhaps kept in the Hue church archives, which were destroyed during two local wars: in 1833, under Emperor Minh Mang, and in 1861 in the reign of Emperor Tu Duc.

No formal approval has been given to the apparition of the Our Lady of Lavang- the Vietnamese hierarchy has not officially pronounced on the historicity of Mary's apparition at La Vang. The elevation of the church to Basilica status and the visit of Pope John Paul II gives implicit approval to the apparition claim.

On December 16, 1997, Pope John Paul II issued a letter to Cardinal Paul Joseph Pham Dinh Tung of Ha Noi to mark the 200th anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin in La Vang.

In recent times, the La Vang Shrine has had close relations with the Holy See. John XXIII, after reordering the ecclesiastical circumscriptions of Viet Nam and creating an ecclesiastical hierarchy (24 November 1960), made another gift to the country by granting the title of Minor Basilica (22 August 1961) to the national shrine of La Vang. John Paul II, for his part, has shown many signs of affection for Our Lady of La Vang:

— in the Angelus of Sunday, 19 June 1988, in the list of the most significant Marian shrines he included La Vang, recalling at the same time the 117 Martyrs of Viet Nam who were canonized that same morning, and wishing that the shrine become a symbol of the Church's new vitality and of national reconciliation, without religious distinction;

— in the General Audience of Wednesday, 25 November 1992, the presence of Archbishop Etienne Nguyen Nhu The, the current Archbishop of Hue, gave the Holy Father the opportunity of referring to the La Vang Shrine and emphasizing the Vietnamese Catholics' filial attachment to Christ and to his representative on earth;

— during the World Youth Day in Denver, (15 August 1993), His Holiness spent one hour with the Vietnamese who were present and entrusted the whole Vietnamese Catholic community to the Blessed Virgin's protection, with the wish that the celebrations for the bicentenary of La Vang might help to reinforce unity and mutual understanding between the Catholics and their fellow countrymen;

— in the General Audience of Wednesday, 26 October 1994, the Holy Father asked the priests and religious gathered in Rome to study the pastoral needs of the Vietnamese diaspora, to deepen their faith and to cherish the teaching of the Church with a view to preparing the celebration of the bicentenary of La Vang;

— on 14 December 1996, on the occasion of the ad limina visit of the Vietnamese Bishops, Pope John Paul II again entrusted the country to the protection of the Blessed Virgin, with reference to the spiritual preparation for the forthcoming commemorative celebration of the La Vang apparitions.

Clearly, the Holy See's gestures of affection and participation have increased in view of the approaching celebrations:

— the Apostolic Penitentiary has granted the possibility of earning a plenary indulgence to pilgrims who visit La Vang between 1 January 1998 and 15 August 1999, in other words, during the whole of the Marian Year proclaimed by the local Episcopate;

— in a letter to Archbishop Etienne Nguyen Nhu The of Hue, the Cardinal Secretary of State sent the Apostolic Blessing to the Archdiocese which will prepare for the feast of the 15th of August with a solemn triduum;

— lastly, as long ago as 16 December 1997, His Holiness sent a spiritual Message to Cardinal Paul Joseph Pham Dinh Tung, Archbishop of Ha Noi, president of the Episcopal Conference, and appointed him as his Special Envoy for the celebrations.