Posted on 11/25/2018 7:06:58 AM PST by marshmallow
A rendering of the Diocese of Orange's Our Lady of La Vang Shrine. Image courtesy of Torrence Architects
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. (RNS) Like most Vietnamese-American Catholics, Elysabeth Nguyen grew up hearing stories of Our Lady of La Vang, who is said to have saved her people from persecution.
The Marian apparition is said to have appeared in the late 1700s to a group of Catholics fleeing persecution in Vietnam. She then became a centerpiece of Catholic faith in the country, and after the fall of Saigon in 1975 when more than a million Vietnamese became refugees her intercession was credited with sparing the lives of her devotees. Churches named for the La Vang virgin are now thought to be as numerous in the United States as those dedicated to the apparitions at Fatima or Lourdes.
Now Nguyen and a group of Vietnamese-American Catholics in Orange County, Calif., home to the largest Vietnamese Catholic community outside Vietnam, are leading the development of the United States first major stand-alone shrine to Our Lady of La Vang.
The multi-million-dollar shrine, located at the Catholic Diocese of Oranges Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, will offer the 100,000 Vietnamese-American Catholics in the diocese a gathering place and, its builders expect, an international pilgrimage site. The diocese broke ground on the project in October.
To have a shrine here reminds them of the homeland, of how grateful they are to be here, and the fruits and blessings theyve had since coming to this country, said Nguyen, project manager for the La Vang Shrine Committee with the Diocese of Orange.
(Excerpt) Read more at religionnews.com ...
Just another case of idolatry supported by Roman Catholicism.
Ping.
Lighten up Francis
Not when it comes to exposing the idolatry of Roman Catholicism.
Very pretty. I hope it’s a blessing for all, not only the Vietnamese.
Maybe you can convert us all to your 3 year old protestant religion missing 7 books from the Bible.
Anything Christian should be encouraged.
Protestant iconoclasm is reminiscent of Wahhabism.
Iconoclasm threatened the Byzantine empire
through Islamic influence.
This Vietnamese kid was shot by a gang member in a case of mistaken identity, the Vietnamese teen was not a part of any gang. Many prayed for the intercession of Our Lady of La Vang and he did recover. The St. Paul newspaper’s article on his recovery had some saying, it was a miracle.
The hope would be for all to become a follower of Christ, and only Christ.
The well attested, and admitted, worship of these false apparitions claiming to be Mary, by Roman Catholicism is not Christianity.
Except this is not Christian. It is idolatry....plain and simple.
You are exhibiting your ignorance and sound like a cromwellian roundhead.
Lol!
It's one of the easiest things to illustrate in Roman Catholicism.
Perhaps you wear the Scapular?
Do you believe all the promises of the apparition claiming to be Mary?
Do you have a "statue" of Mary in your home you kneel before and pray to? Do you have one in your church?
Ridiculous.
Were the Crusaders idolaters?
Were the Templars idolators?
Were our ancestors idolators?
Not really...these are simple yes or no questions I'd think any Roman Catholic would/should be able to answer.
You are an offensive individual.
I am a generic Christian and not a Catholic. I am very tolerant of all other religious views but have no tolerance for the intolerant.
I think you would be more comfortable in Mecca or Medina.
I just asked you three questions and no I am not a Roman Catholic. I owe no allegiance to any earthly religious potentate.
“Except this is not Christian.”
Christian statue of Mary, paid for by Christians, made by Christians, in a shrine designed by Christians to be used by Christians.
Yep, it’s Christian.
“It is idolatry....plain and simple.”
No one is worshiping the statue. Therefore, it is NOT idolatry. Repeatedly saying it is idolatry, even though no one will worship the statue, is, however, slander and calumny.
Repent.
The truth does upset people when confronted with it.
I am a generic Christian and not a Catholic. I am very tolerant of all other religious views but have no tolerance for the intolerant.
A generic Christian?
If so, you should recognize that bowing before a man-made object and praying to that object as Roman Catholicism does, is definitely not Christian.
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