Two years ago, I went with Hien to visit his parish and see the construction of the church for Hoa Lac parish. You can check out
my blog post on this visit. This time, much has changed as the two side towers are now complete In the foreground are the stone arches (laid down) to go over the entrance ways. On the side of the new church is a spectacular lawn, and at the time of my visit it was taken over by kids playing soccer before their catechism lessons.
Adjacent to the lawn is a spectacular pond with the statues of Our Lady of Fatima and the three children. The stones for the pathways were brought by parish members, salvaged from old construction.
Here is a side view of the church looking from the back to the front.Notice the hewn stone steps, the carved stone bars, and the wood side doors. All of the wood is ironwood and will last for centuries.
Looking from the back to the front on the other side, you can see the hand-carved doors. The craftsmanship is exquisite. The architecture of the church is based on that of the cathedral of Phat Diem.
The trusses are hand carved and in the style of Vietnamese pagodas. Fr. Six, the designer of the cathedral in Phat Diem, got away from the traditional French style of design and adopted the Asian style. Seeing Catholic architecture through the eyes on non-Europeans brings a whole new light to worship.
The nave, where the people sit, is kept without color, only carving. This area represents the earth, where we are now. While beautiful, it is not the ideal we hope for.
The sanctuary, how is alight with red and gold, symbols of heaven, where we desire to be. There are pictures of traditional saints (Francis and Benedict) with contemporary saints (Archbishop Romero and Sr. Faustina). This shows a continuity of the history and tradition of Catholicism.
After touring the new construction with Hien, we came back to the lawn and were greeted by more of the students. There is no summer school, so the diocese has daily catechism, snacks, and mass for the children.
Hien took these last two pictures of me with the children. I got to teach them paddy-cake and a few magic tricks.
Honesty, kids are the same all over. They just want to be acknowledged and affirmed. I had the best time.
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