HOUSTON — The alluring scent of roses, orchids and other fresh flowers seemed to be just as noticeable as the flourishing bouquets of greenery and petals that towered over hundreds of Vietnamese Catholics at Our Lady of Lavang Church in northwest Houston.
Gathered for a massive Marian youth festival that featured special prayers, youth events and speakers on May 5 through May 7, 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 surrounded by flowers followed the procession, with other floats covered with flowers honoring the Holy Family, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Image of Divine Mercy, as well as a mobile reliquary with relics of the Vietnamese Martyrs.
Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, who is a member of the U.S. Bishops Conference’s subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Island Affairs on the committee on cultural diversity in the Church, presided over the bilingual Mass on May 7.
Despite rain showers, hundreds still attended the Mass, which was concelebrated by visiting Vietnamese Bishop Joseph Đang Đuc Ngân of Da Nang, Vietnam.
