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Fearing for their lives, persecuted Catholics fled into the La Vang rainforest in Vietnam seeking refuge from a tyrannical emperor in 1798. They gathered each night at the base of a tree to pray the Rosary while hiding in the jungle.
Then one night at the tree, they believed they saw an apparition Mary holding Baby Jesus. The vision has become a powerful symbol.
While the reported event took place more than 200 years ago, the tradition of Our Lady of La Vang is deeply entrenched in the Vietnamese Catholic community to this day.
“Our Lady of La Vang continues to journey with her people, through the war, and then through the boat people leaving Vietnam,” said Father Thanh Nguyen, an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Orange and the only Vietnamese bishop in the U.S. “A lot of them settled here in Orange County, and they desire to have a place to honor Mary, and to thank her, and also [ask] her to join with them in the days ahead.”