HOUSTON — Thousands of Vietnamese Catholic pilgrims gathered at Our Lady of La Vang Parish in northwest Houston during Marian Days, filling the shrine grounds with prayer, song and reflection as organizers marked the 40th anniversary of the festival with a message centered on urgency, peace and personal conversion.
Gathered for a massive, three-day Marian festival that featured special prayers, youth events and speakers from May 1 to May 3, hundreds attended outdoor Masses and prayed the Rosary while joining a long Marian procession to honor Mary, Queen of Peace.
A bright statue of the Blessed Mother as Our Lady of La Vang, surrounded by flowers, followed the procession, with other floats covered with flowers honoring the Holy Family.
A bright statue of the Blessed Mother as Our Lady of La Vang, surrounded by flowers, followed the procession, with other floats covered with flowers honoring the Holy Family.
Presiding at the opening Mass, Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Nguyen Chí Linh, former archbishop of the Archdiocese of Hue in Vietnam, addressed a world he described as wounded by violence and division.
“The world is going through fierce moments of war, deceit and anger,” Archbishop Linh said, inviting the faithful to ask the Virgin Mary to restore peace and to extend her protection to Vietnam, which he said continues to face economic and spiritual hardship.
He also urged worshipers to look inward, asking Mary to bring peace to families and to individual lives marked by mistakes and setbacks.
He also urged worshipers to look inward, asking Mary to bring peace to families and to individual lives marked by mistakes and setbacks.
