'Loving mother' enshrined

By Jim Davis - Florida Catholic

FORT LAUDERDALE | The Virgin Mary, many Vietnamese Catholics believe, appeared in the 18th century to aid refugees in their homeland. Many believe she still helps them.

Those in South Florida acknowledged her protection Dec. 9 by dedicating a marble statue to her at St. Helen Parish, home of the Vietnamese Apostolate in the archdiocese.

Our Lady of La Vang, as the manifestation of Mary was called, has become at once a focus of devotion, a rallying point for the people, and a reminder of their homeland.

"She is a symbol for the Vietnamese people," said John Tran of Miramar, president of the Vietnamese community at the parish. "Our Mother has been protecting the Vietnamese people for many years and she will protect us for many years to come. This we believe strongly."

About 1,000 people — mostly Vietnamese, but with a few Anglo, Hispanic and Haitian parishioners as well — braved threatening gray clouds to attend the dedication. The church's front lawn boasted a host of festive colors. Strings of pennants fluttered overhead in red, white, blue and yellow. About 180 members attended from the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Society, in age-coded kerchiefs of red, green, blue and other hues.

Many women came in the national dress, a tunic and pants set called the ao-dai — royal blue for the choir, light blue for a women's prayer society, red and yellow for the traditional national colors of Vietnam. A few also wore the crescent-shaped headdress known as a khan dong.

Mirroring their garb was the 12-foot-6-inch statue itself, sculpted in Vietnam. Aside from the image of Mary with the infant Jesus in her arms, the artwork also depicted her devotees and the jungle near Hue, Vietnam, where the apparition happened.

It took place during a wave of persecution in Vietnam starting in 1798. Many Christians fled into the forested mountains, where they suffered from hunger, cold, animal attacks and sickness. But they continued to pray and say the rosary. One night they saw a vision of a beautiful lady in an ao-dai, holding a child and flanked by angels. She advised them to boil leaves from the surrounding plants, a medicine that healed them of their ills. The site then became a shrine for prayer and pilgrimage.

The theme of protection emerged as well at St. Helen, in the prayer of blessing for the image offered by Father Robert Ayala, who presided at the dedication.

"You chose the blessed Virgin Mary as the mother and companion of your Son, the image and model of your Church, the mother and advocate of us all," prayed Father Ayala, parochial vicar at St. Helen. "May your children who have provided this image of Mary know her protection and trace in their hearts the pattern of her holiness."

The women then sang a song, "Kinh Thanh Mau La Vang," as they approached and laid orchids, tiger lilies and red and yellow roses at the image's feet. Just then, the skies opened and torrents of rain sent everyone dashing to the church.

Mass in Vietnamese was followed by a dinner of delicacies including quail egg soup, sesame balls and pastries wrapped in banana leaves. Some diners tried their singing talents at a karaoke machine, emceed by Father Joseph Long Nguyen, administrator of the Vietnamese Apostolate.

Dedication of the Marian image was a landmark for the Vietnamese community, whose 1,000 members come from as far as West Palm Beach and Homestead to attend Mass in their language at St. Helen.

"When there's a Vietnamese parish, the first thing they want is a picture of Our Lady of La Vang," Father Long said. "When they see her, they feel comfortable. They have a loving mother to take care of them."

The Vietnamese community began raising funds for the Marian statue about two years ago, and managed to raise $100,000 with some help from other groups in the parish. The image was crafted by workmen in Da Nang and arrived in September.

But the statue was 25 percent larger than expected: Along with its bas-relief setting, it totaled 24 tons. The church needed heavy equipment — and a bigger foundation.

Enter Amy Le, an air-conditioning contractor who lives in Loxahatchee. With a crane and a six-man crew —and 30 Vietnamese volunteers for various tasks — she set the image aright in time for the dedication. 

Like most of her fellow Vietnamese parishioners, Le fled her homeland after South Vietnam fell to the north. In 1979, at the age of 9, she became one of the "Boat People," drifting for a week with 187 other people without food or water. Then they were picked up and placed in a camp in Thailand along with 280,000 other refugees.

After enduring about six months there, she was raised in a large family in Utah, where she attended Catholic school. She then served in the U.S. Navy and came to South Florida, where she met Son Le, whom she married in 1990. They have four children.

"Everything I do is thanks and dedication to God," Le said. "But I'm proud of what I've accomplished as an American. And I'm proud to be Catholic."

Vietnamese is only one of the languages spoken at St. Helen, where Mass is also celebrated in Spanish, Creole and English. For the rest of the community, said Father Lesly Jean, St. Helen's administrator, the statue has another name: Mary Queen of the Universe.

"Whatever your background, you can come here and show your dedication to Mary," Father Jean said.

Indeed, some non-Vietnamese at the dedication made the same connection.

Sally Schwartz of Fort Lauderdale was charmed by the exuberant Vietnamese Mass, which she attended on an invitation from a friend. "I couldn't understand a word," she said with a laugh, "but it was a beautiful service, joyful, with a lot of singing. It shows the Church is universal."

"It's the same Virgin Mary in any country," said Delfina Idaboy of Tamarac. She said the Vietnamese show the same kind of devotion to Our Lady of La Vang as her fellow Cuban-Americans show for Our Lady of Charity.

Father Ayala, himself a Cuban-American, noted the link as well. "Both peoples have faced communism and come to America. Both realize that freedom cannot be taken for granted."

With Our Lady of La Vang in place, the Vietnamese are planning their next events. Following 2 p.m. Mass on Christmas, they will hold a concert in the church parking lot. After that comes the Vietnamese New Year on Feb. 10 — the Year of the Snake — with food, music, and a lion dance.