⛪️ Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon

We visited the famous Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon, situated in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. It is one of the tallest buildings in the city and the oldest Catholic churches in Vietnam. It's the smaller version of Notre-Dame de Paris in France, corresponding to the prominent cathedral's form in the Romanesque and French Gothic style. The official name of the church is Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.


The cathedral was built between 1865 and 1880 by French colonists. The total cost of the construction was 2.5 million francs. In 1962, the Vatican gave the cathedral the title Basilique.


There are five chapels. The walls made of Bien Hoa granite, combined with red tiles from Marseilles, all without coating used. Red tiles from France were also used on the roofs but later replaced with tiles of equal quality from Phu Huu. This bright red-orangey brick edifice with twin spires will attract your attention.



In front of the cathedral is the statue of  Our Lady of Peace made of white marble, symbolizing peace. In October 2005, locals claimed that the statue of the Virgin Mary mysteriously shed tears but was refuted by the Catholic Church of Vietnam.


For those who are planning to visit, please be warned that the cathedral is currently undergoing a massive restoration construction project that began in 2017 and is expected to last until 2023. They also build a fence around the church to prevent people from vandalizing its walls.


Watch the video below:



In the meantime, you can attend the English-Vietnamese holy mass (the priest speaks first in Vietnamese then translates it into English) at 9:30 in the morning on Sundays or other religious services, but tourist activities are suspended. Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon is adjacent to Saigon Central Post Office.

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