A new exhibit highlighting the future Our Lady of La Vang Shrine has been unveiled at the Christ Cathedral Cultural Center.
The shrine, designed by architects Aaron Torrence and Trung Quoc Tran, will be located in the northeastern portion of the Christ Cathedral Campus in Garden Grove and honors an apparition in 1798 of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus, to Catholics fleeing anti-Catholic persecution in La Vang, Vietnam.
The newly-opened exhibit is on the second floor of the Christ Cathedral Cultural Center and details the history of Vietnamese-American Catholics in Orange County. It includes historical photos, shrine renderings and a red brick from the bell tower of the original Our Lady of La Vang Church in Vietnam, constructed in 1901.
Orange County is home to the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam and there are more than 100,000 Vietnamese Catholics in the Diocese of Orange. Bishop Kevin Vann announced in December 2016 that the Our Lady of La Vang Shrine will be constructed on the Christ Cathedral Campus, serving as a place of worship and pilgrimage for all Catholics.
Donations can be made by contacting the Orange Catholic Foundation or at your local parish.
To learn more about the Our Lady of La Vang Shrine Project, please visit: http://www.lavangusa.org