Veà Beân Meï La Vang

Baûn Tin Coå Ñoäng Höôùng Veà Meï La Vang

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Marian shrine in Vietnam survives despite odds
Baát chaáp moïi cam go, Thaùnh ñöôøng Ñöùc Maria ôû Vieät Nam vaãn coøn ñoù

Lavang, Vietnam
Despite persecutions and wars since the time Mary is believed to have first appeared here 200 years ago, Our Lady of Lavang Shrine has remained a strong faith symbol for Vietnamese Catholics. Nearly 100,000 people joined Archbishop Etienne Nguyen Nhu The, apostolic administrator of Hue, to open the bicentennial jubilee at the shrine, located 40 miles north of Hue in central Vietnam. Destroyed many times over the years, the shrine was recently rebuilt complete with a 100-foot-wide, 1,500-foot-long plaza. Also standing at the pilgrimage site are portion of the bell tower and the back wall of the church destroyed during the so-called "fiery summer" battles of 1972 during the Vietnam War.

Mary is believed to have first appeared in Lavang in 1798 to console persecuted Christians in Vietnam. Some say "La" (leaf) "Vang" (herbal seeds) refers to the name of a tree, often a place of hiding for persecuted Christians, while others say it means a noise by villagers beating on household utensils to chase away wild animals. Nevertheless, villagers of that time who heard about a sacred lady appearing at the banyan tree decided to build a platform and fences around it.

By the 1820s, people from three neiboring villages built a small thatched temple on the site, and then offered the land and the temple to Catholics. The parish priest converted the temple into a church. Pope John XXIII granted the buildings the status of cathedral, and the bishops of Vietnam declared it the national Marian shrine.

Lavang, Vieät Nam
Caùch ñaây 200 naêm keå töø ngaøy ngöôøi ta tin Ñöùc Maria ñaõ hieän ra laàn ñaàu, maëc cho nhöõng cuoäc baét ñaïo vaø chieán tranh, ñeàn thôø Ñöùc Meï Lavang vaãn ñöùng vöõng bieåu tröng cho loøng tin saét ñaù cuûa nhöõng ngöôøi Coâng Giaùo Vieät Nam.

Gaàn 10 ngaøn ngöôøi ñaõ cuøng vôùi Ñöùc Cha Etienne Nguyeãn Nhö Theå, toång giaùm muïc giaùm quaûn ñòa phaän Hueá, khai maïc ngaøy kyû nieäm ñeä nhò baùch chu nieân taïi thaùnh ñöôøng Ñöùc Meï ôû mieàn Trung, caùch thaønh phoá Hueá 40 daëm veà phía Baéc.

Ñaõ nhieàu naêm nay, ñeàn kính Ñöùc Meï bieát bao laàn bò taøn phaù, ngöôøi ta ñaõ xaây môùi laïi treân moät quaûng tröôøng roäng ñoä 100 feet vaø daøi ñoä 1,500 feet. Trong cuoäc chieán tranh Vieät Nam, nhöõng traän chieán khoác lieät ñöôïc goïi laø "muøa heø ñoû löûa" naêm 1972, ñaõ taøn phaù ñeàn thôø, chæ coøn truï laïi nôi haønh höông moät phaàn cuûa thaùp chuoâng vaø böùc töôøng sau thaùnh ñöôøng.

Moïi ngöôøi tin raèng, Ñöùc Maria ñaõ hieän ra taïi Lavang laàn thöù I vaøo naêm 1798 ñeå yeân uûi nhöõng giaùo daân Vieät Nam bò baét ñaïo. Moät soá ngöôøi cho raèng "La" (coù nghóa laø Laù) coøn "Vang" (teân moät gioáng haït coû), aùm chæ ñeán teân cuûa moät loaïi caây thöôøng thaáy ôû nôi nhöõng ngöôøi bò baét ñaïo aån naùu, trong khi nhöõng ngöôøi khaùc cho raèng La Vang laø tieáng la vang cuûa daân laøng goõ ñaäp noài nieâu soong chaûo ñeå xua ñuoåi thuù röøng. Duø sao chaêng nöõa, daân laøng thôøi ñoù ñaõ ñöôïc nghe veà moät Ñöùc Thaùnh Baø hieän ra ôû nôi moät caây ña, neân hoï quyeát ñònh xaây moät beä cao vaø raøo haøng daäu xung quanh nôi ñoù.

Vaøo nhöõng naêm 1820, daân chuùng ôû ba lang laân caän ñaõ döïng moät ngoâi ñeàn nhoû maùi rôm ôû treân khu ñaát ñoù, roài sau ñoù hoï coáng hieán caû khu ñaát vaø ngoâi ñeàn aáy cho nhöõng ngöôøi Coâng Giaùo. Vò cha xöù ôû ñoù ñaõ bieán ñoåi ngoâi ñeàn thaønh moät nhaø thôø. Ñöùc Giaùo Hoaøng Gioan 23 ñaõ naâng nhöõng cô sôû phuïng töï ôû ñoù leân haøng ñaïi thaùnh ñöôøng vaø caùc ñöùc giaùm muïc Vieät Nam ñaõ coâng boá nhaø thôø Ñöùc Maria naøy laø Trung Taâm Thaùnh Maãu Toaøn Quoác.

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