Huyen Sy Church

Violet, Osang, Jandy and I still had the whole morning free prior to our departure, via aircon bus, from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh in Cambodia, so we decided to walk over to nearby Huyen Sy Church, the oldest and one of the four biggest Catholic churches in the city (it is the second largest).  Widely regarded as one of the most beautiful churches in the city, it imitates the style of many European cathedrals and small churches in France and I was looking forward to add this to my Saigon photo collection.

Church interior

The church, sometimes known as Nhà thờ Chợ Đũi (Đũi Market Church) because it was located in Chợ Đũi parish, was designed by Fr. Charles Boutier (1845-1927), an architect of considerable merit who had previously designed the Thủ Đức Church and redesigned the Sisters of Saint Paul de Chartres’ École de Sainte-Enfance complex (after its original wooden buildings had been damaged by termites).

The vaulted ceiling of the nave

Constructed from 1902 to 1905, it was named after Huyen Sy (1841-1900, real name Philippe Lê Phát Ðạt), the richest man in Saigon at that time and grandfather of Queen Nam Phuong (Marie-Thérèse Nguyễn Hữu Thị Lan), first and primary wife of King Bảo Đại, Vietnam’s last king.

Italian stained glass windows

Funder of the church’s construction (he donated one seventh of his family inheritance to build the church and also contributed the land on which it sits), he also funded the construction of the churches in Chí Hoà and Thủ Đức.  He died before the building was completed. His son Denis Lê Phát An later built the extraordinary Byzantine-style church in Hạnh Thông Tây.

The high altar

This 40 m. long by 18 m. wide, Gothic-style church has Romanesque decorative elements and a vaulted nave flanked by vaulted aisles decorated in pastel green and white.  Off the nave, in the axial Huyện Sỹ memorial chapel immediately behind the chancel, are the tombs of Huyen Sy and his wife Huỳnh Thị Tài (1845-1920). Elaborately carved from the finest marble, the tombs feature full-length effigies of the couple. Busts of Huyện Sỹ and Huỳnh Thị Tài are also installed on the walls.

Chapel dedicated to St. Joseph

Aside from using brick, this is also one or a few churches that used Bien Hoa granite, a kind of stone that shows wealth but is very hard to carve patterns.  It was used in the façade, base, the main columns and decorative work.The high ceiling, with its vertical emphasis, is defined by an ogival arch that is supported by pillars made from Bien Hoa granite.

Chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary

Its Italian stained glass windows, which keeps out as much of the tropical heat as possible, are adorned with images of Bible stories while, along the walls, are statues of Biblical and Vietnamese saints and the 14 Stations of the Cross. On either side of the transept are small chapels dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St Joseph.

Statue of St. Matthieu Le Van Gam

The chancel features a richly-decorated marble high altar standing on an open platform and featuring ornate gilding work and exquisitely-carved bas-reliefs of Biblical scenes, including the Last Supper and Mary being visited by the Angel Gabriel.

Statue of St. Joseph and the Child Jesus

The church is dedicated to St. Philip the Apostle (a statue of St Philip stands at the main entrance).  Immediately in front of the church stands a statue of St. Matthêu Lê Văn Gẫm (Lê Văn Bôi, 1813-1847), a Vietnamese priest and merchant from Biên Hòa Province who was captured and beheaded, for his Catholic missionary activities, in the Chợ Đũi area on the orders of the Nguyễn Dynasty court. In 1900, he was beatified by Pope Leo XIII and, every year on May 11, the date of his execution, a festival of remembrance is held at the church.

The popular Ave Maria prayer spot

The grounds also contain numerous other shrines, including a statue to St Joseph and a Mountain of Our Lady, built in 1960. A Chapel of Rest has recently been added. On numerous occasions, the church has been refurbished, most recently from 2007 to 2009. Above the front vestibule is a 57 m. high bell tower which contains 4 bells cast in France in 1905.

The Chapel of Rest

The two largest bells (diameter 1.05 m.) were presented to the church by Jean Baptiste Lê Phát Thanh, one of Huyện Sỹ’s sons, and his wife Anna Đỗ Thị Thao. To honor their contribution to the Huyện Sỹ Church, their busts are also displayed in the memorial chapel behind the chancel. The donor of the two smaller bells (diameter 0.95 m.) is not known.

The church’s 3 spires

This century-old, grand and imposing church, a tranquil haven with a warm and awe-inspiring interior, is popular among Vietnamese Catholics who come to Huyen Sy to pray and light incense and votive candles.  On the church grounds is a peaceful flower garden. 

Votive offerings

Huyen Sy Church: 1 Ton That Tung Road (formerly Rue Frère Guilleraut) corner Nguyễn Trãi St. (formerly Rue Frère Louis), , District 1,  Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Tel: 84 (0) 8 3833 0820 and 84 (0) 8 3925 5806. Open Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8-11 AM and  2-4:30PM.

The Neo-Romanesque-style and French-inspired Notre Dame Cathedral, officially the Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception, is a modest replica of its namesake in Paris.  It faces Ð Dong Khoi and is set in the heart of HCMC’s government quarter.  When we arrived, its front gates as well as the heavy timber doors on the side of the building that faces Reunification Palace were locked so we never got to see its interior.  Sunday masses here are held in both Vietnamese and English.  The cathedral is also a favorite for pre-nuptial photo shoots.

Notre Dame Cathedral

The granite plate inside the main entry gate commemorates the start and completion dates and designer. It states that, on October 7, 1877, Bishop Isidore Colombert laid its first stone in an inaugural ceremony. The construction of the cathedral construction work, managed by a French engineer named Baurad, took three years and, on April 11, 1880, Easter Sunday, a blessing and ceremony of completion was solemnly organized in the presence of Cochinchina  Gov. Charles Le Myre de Vilers.

Bell tower detail

The total construction cost, at that time, was 2,500,000 French francs. Its foundation was designed to bear ten times the weight of the cathedral. All its original building materials were imported from France and the bricks of exterior walls, which still retained their bright red color until today, came from Marseille. Most of the tiles are  carved with the words “Guichard Carvin, Marseille St André France” (perhaps stating the locality where the tiles were manufactured) while others are carved with the words “Wang-Tai Saigon.” Many tiles damaged during the war have since been replaced by tiles made in Ho Chi Minh City. Its 56 stained glass squares were supplied by the Lorin firm of Chartres province in France and installed by famous French artisans. These were destroyed during World War II and have since been replaced with plain glass

Rose window

At the beginning, the cathedral was called State Cathedral due to the source of the construction funds. On February 17, 1959, during the closing ceremony of the Marian Congress, the cathedral was then-on called Notre-Dame Cathedral. In 1960, the cathedral was titled Saigon Chief Cathedral and, in 1962, Pope John XXIII conferred on it the status of a basilica. From this time, this cathedral was called Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica.

Side elevation

The cathedral has two main central bays and two sidereal corridors, with tall pillars and light coming in through sets of high windows. Its two 57.6 m. (190 ft.) high square bell towers, added to the cathedral in 1895, dominate the scenic Le Place Pigneau de Behaine (with its beautiful flower garden) which is bounded by the main post office.  Tipped with iron spires, they have six bronze bells (with a total weight of 28.85 metric tons). On the top of each tower are 3.5 m. high and 2 m. wide crosses weighing 600 kgs.

Another view of the side

The total height of the cathedral, from ground to the top of the cross, is 60.5 m. In front of the cathedral and in the center of the square is a granite statue, made in Rome and installed on February 16, 1959, of the Our Lady of Peace (which was given the title of Regina Pacis). During October 2005, the statue was said to have shed tears, which flowed down the right cheek of the face of the statue.  It attracted thousands of people and forced authorities to stop traffic around the cathedral.

Violet and Osang

Notre Dame Cathedral:  Bến Nghé, tp., District 1, Hồ Chí Minh City.