In the late 1700s, political power struggles in Vietnam were the order of
the day. In parallel to the French Revolution, the peasants were rising
against the ruling lords. During the battle for the country's throne, the
insurgent Nguyen Anh sought refuge on Phu Quoc Island where the Society of
Foreign Missions had established a seminary for youths from surrounding
countries. The seminary head, Bishop Pierre Pigneau urged Nguyen Anh to
request assistance from King Louis XVI.
When the reigning monarch discovered this, he knew that the increasing
numbers of Vietnamese Catholics would support Anh. As a result, King Canh
Thinh issued an anti-Catholic edict on August 17, 1798, ordering the
destruction of all Catholic churches and seminaries. This was accompanied
by the torture and execution of the missionaries and their converts, a
terror that would last for 88 years.
During the period of persecution, many Vietnamese Catholics fled to the
deep forest region of Vietnam near present day Quang Tri City. The area
was notable for a tree, called La Vang, derived from Vietnamese for
Crying Out, which signified the howls of the persecuted innocents.
That same year, 1798, the fleeing refugees suffered from intense cold,
jungle sickness and starvation. One night, as they were gathered in
groups to pray and say the Rosary, an apparition of a beautiful Lady
appeared to them, wearing a long cape, holding a child, and accompanied by
two angels. They identified her as the Blessed Virgin. The apparition
spoke, telling them to boil the leaves from the surrounding trees to use
as medicine. She also promised that from when on, at the grassy area near
an ancient banyan tree where they had been praying, all who came to this
place to pray would have their prayers answered. For the next 88,
throughout the period of persecution, the apparition continued to appear
to those worshippers who gathered at the spot. Among them, were a group
of thirty who had been captured in the forest of Lavang. Knowing they
were to die, they appealed to be returned to the little chapel of Lavang
which had been built to honor the Blessed Mother. There they were burned
to death.
In spite of the difficulty in reaching the location, many pilgrims found
their way to the increasingly famous spot at Lavang. They risked their
lives and health to journey through the jungle to reach the spot where
they might worship the Lady of Lavang.
By 1886, the persecution of the faithful had officially ended. It was
Bishop Gaspar who ordered a church to be built to the Lady of Lavang, but
because of its isolated location, the project took a decade and a half.
From August 6th to 9th, 1901, the church was inaugurated by Bishop Gaspar
in a ceremony that included more than ten thousand worshippers.
Twenty-seven years later, a larger church was built, because the number of
pilgrims and worshippers had significantly increased. In 1972, during the
Vietnam war, this church was destroyed.
On June 19, 1988 Pope John Paul II conducted the canonizing ceremony of
117 Vietnamese martyrs. He expressed a desire for the rebuilding of the
Lavang Basilica to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Lady of
Lavang's first appearance in August 1998.
