Father Thom Hennen, pastor of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport, sprinkles holy water on a new Our Lady of LaVang statue during a blessing Aug. 18. The blessing was held in the parish courtyard prior to Mass for the Vietnamese Catholic community.
By Anne Marie Amacher
The Catholic Messenger
DAVENPORT — As balloons swayed in the breeze around the Sacred Heart Cathedral courtyard, Father Thom Hennen blessed a new statue of Our Lady of LaVang, made in Vietnam. The Vietnamese Catholic community gathered Aug. 18 for the blessing, song, dance, balloon release and outdoor procession, followed by Mass inside the cathedral to mark the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The community gathers on the Sunday closest to the Aug. 15 feast day.
“The old statue was more than 20 years old and the paint was fading,” said Trien Martin Ngo, the community’s president. “One of our members knew who would make a statue, so I asked her to special-order one.”
Father Hennen greeted the community in Vietnamese before blessing the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, praying in English. “… This image will remind us of the close ties of Mary to Christ and his Church. First of all, she is Christ’s Mother, the Mother of the visible image of the invisible God. But she is also the image and the model of the Church, and she is its exemplar. In Mary, the Church joyously contemplates the image of all that the Church itself desires and hopes wholly to be. The Church recognizes in Mary the model of the path and the practice it must follow to reach complete union with Christ….”
After Father Hennen sprinkled the statue with holy water, Father Stephen Nguyen of Divine Word College in Epworth, Iowa, incensed the new statue. The community processed into the cathedral for Mass. Father Nguyen presided and nine priests concelebrated. A reception followed.
“The Assumption is important to many of us as the Virgin Mary’s heavenly birthday (the day Mary was received into heaven),” said Ngo. “Also, Mary is considered as a patron saint of the Vietnamese Catholics. Our Lady of LaVang (Vietnamese: Đức Mẹ La Vang) refers to a reported Marian apparition at a time when Catholics were persecuted and killed in Vietnam. Vietnamese Catholic communities celebrate around the world and many in the U.S.”
Today, thousands of Vietnamese travel in late July and early August to Carthage, Missouri for “Marian Days,” honoring Mary over several days. According to a Public Broadcasting Service documentary, the celebration started after a group of Vietnamese Catholic priests and brothers escaped Vietnam and settled in Carthage. Marian Days began as an event to express gratitude. It features a pilgrimage and festival and opportunities for individuals, families and friends to come together and to enhance their relationship with God through reconciliation and prayers, Ngo said.
