In 1533, French Missionaries were the first to bring Christianity to Vietnam. Right from the very beginning, converts to Christianity were persecuted by their local rulers. About one hundred years after Christianity was introduced to Vietnam, over one thousand Christians were persecuted, and in the following centuries, thousands more were killed. In the year 1798, many hundreds of Vietnamese Christians fled from their villages in hopes that they could hide from the persecutions. Many of them fled into jungles near La Vang. They suffered from hunger and sickness, but they knew that Our Lord and His Mother would not forget them. One evening, as everyone was praying the Rosary, a beautiful woman clothed in light appeared before them carrying a baby and surrounded by angels. The Christians knew it was their Blessed Mother coming with the Child Jesus to comfort them. Our Lady spoke as a Mother would to her children, and promised them that anyone who asked for her help would be comforted and protected by her. She also showed them some plants that they could use as medicine. She came many times in the next 100 years to comfort her children during their time of need. After the apparitions, the Christian built a church in honor of the Mother of God from straw and leaves in the place she appeared, and shortly after many cures and miracles were reported there. In 1805, the Vietnamese Emporer started another wave of persecution. During this time, the Church was burnt to the ground, although the altar, which marks the spot of the apparitions, survived. A new, larger brick church was built in 1900, but was damaged during the Vietnamese War. Again, the altar was the only part of the church that survived.

Our Lady of La Vang, Pray for Us!