Photos

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The humble picture I am offering to you today is “The Lady of Trà Kiệu Church”, locates on top of Bửu Châu Mount in Duy Xuyên District, Quảng Nam Province. This is the first capitol of Champa Kingdom. Due to the lack of info, I asked my friend who is catholic and a former resident of this province. Thanh Nguyen just sent me the following contribution:

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Most travelers arrived here just for Mỹ Sơn Ruins without aware of this famous parish.

During the early spread of Roman catholic religion into Vietnam, Trà Kiệu had up to 4,000 parishioners. In 1885, the Văn Thân Movement has massacred 22 priests, 60 deacons, 300 nuns and 30,000 catholic believers. Their crimes were added with the devastation of 250 churches and chapels, 17 monasteries, 40 schools, 17 orphanages, and most of housings for some 55,000 followers. On July 1st this year, 4,000 armed soldiers suddenly besieged 2,000 parishioners who during the 21-day fight-to-the end with simple spears and broadswords vowed to not give up their belief. After overrunning the Bữu Châu East Post and Kim Sơn West Post, Văn Thân governmental forces shelled up to 500 artillery rounds over the tiny village. On the 2nd week, they opened general offensive and cut through the village’s bamboo fence. The female reservist group prayed in front of the Lady statue then fiercely counter-attacked. Legend says that the Văn Thân side witnessed a Lady in pure white dress standing on the roof to protect the church, and all but one single shell has hit the building with light damage which has been preserved until today.

In Vietnam so far only the miracles by The Lady of La Vang in Quãng Trị Province have been recognized. Once Trà Kiệu Church being established and promoted to basilica, it will attract more pilgrims to the area where the local site Mỹ Sơn is drawing travelers and archaeologists to its ruins.

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Currently, Trà Kiệu Parish serves a catholic population of 3000. It is 7 km from the Nam Phước Junction on National Highway 1 and 19 km from the trail to Mỹ Sơn. In the past, this ancient capitol of the Champa Kingdom, (also called Lâm Ấp, or Simhapura — The City of Lions) situated next to the romantic Thu Bồn River where remains only damaged foundation of the ramparts, buried beneath piles of rocks.

A recent study of ceramic material, primarily pottery of Trà Kiệu from 4 excavations between 1990 and 1997, has been recorded and sampled, under a thesis that Trà Kiệu a center of the polity known to the Chinese as Lin-yi, perhaps from the 2nd, and certainly from the 7th century AD onwards and a little later it is known as a major center of the Indianised Champa kingdom...

But it is another story that we hope to offer you at other chance.


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