In the last part of my previous post, I said I could already see the next tourist spot in the "walking day tour" itinerary prepared by my guide. Nope, I didn't previously know about it. I said I'll just follow her!
As we went out of the post office, guide pointed to me the Notre-Dame Basilica Cathedral of Saigon. I told her to wait for me where she stood, as I walked to the opposite corner for this full façade picture!
So I had to be as far as the sidewalks of buildings opposite the church and park. But worth it, I guess!
Can you identify that building at the right edge of the photo, beyond the white bus and the big trees? Yep, that's Saigon Central Post Office, where I came from. Aw, 'twas not an easy walk to where I stood!
Let me tell you.., at this point, I found it "a challenge" to cross back to that park fronting the cathedral (with a Mama Mary Monument), where my guide was waiting (and I knew she was watching me). Hirap!
I've said this before in my previous stories: I'm not very good at crossing streets whether it be at EDSA lang, Don Mariano Marcos Ave. (Fairview) lang, Mango Ave. lang or Avenida De Veteranos lang! Makuri!
Good that my guide was earnestly watching me, and good that we agreed to keep our 'fb msgr' always on! She called me up, and gave me instructions on how to steer my royal self in a crazy Saigon Traffic!
The given: Drivers in Vietnam don't yield to pedestrians crossing: tatawid ka? bahala ka sa buhay mo!
The technique: Find the heaviest congestion (bottlenecks) where vehicles crawl very slow; cross there! There may be zebra-lines, but note that, no one cares about those. Folks cross anywhere. So tawid na!
Hahaha! Oo nga naman ano? It is just like a patintero (a little bit), but yes, easier to cross!!
Alright, I finally got to cross the road (to my young guide's great relief!) and here's a collage of pics!
Crossing from that corner to the 'Marian Park' was the challenge I just described above. My guide told me, traffic was not heavy yet (cars weren't on a bumper-to-bumper situation!) kaya mahirap tumawid!
I learned something again! In places where car or motorcycle drivers don't care about us pedestrians, it's easiest to cross streets during heavy traffic - we just walk between them motionless vehicles. Beh!
Hahaha, I shoould call that order during disorder!
Anyway, the second photo in the collage is the Mama Mary statue that was on worldwide news in 2005 when it was alleged that it miraculously wept. Some claimed that the left eye was shedding real tears, some even said it was blood! But, the church authorities didn't confirm nor deny, if anything was true!
One thing was sure though, the media and tens of thousands of curious people flocked to that statue!
Btw, you can see in all pics above, the church is undergoing repairs or refurbishments. My guide even told me that some guides in Saigon have this joke that: this is a cathedral that is forever under repair!
People may enter and services are still held in there, however. In fact, I could overhear a mass service (in English) was in progress, while we were ourside. Oh yes btw, their English Service starts at 9:30AM!
We didn't enter anymore, since we knew that the mass was still in progress. Isinasara kasi yung bakod na kahoy pag me misa! As in me bakod? Yes there is, inside the church, about 3 meters from the door!
If you zoom those pictures above, you should see a snippet of that "wooden fence". Well, I can say it's tastefully done (artsy), yet it is still a fence hehe! But I understand why they had to make that "fence". To block non-praying, camera-wielding, noisy tourists from disturbing those who are actually praying.
Alams na kung sino (in general) ang mga yon, di ba? Yun mga 'taga-mainland'. They come in busloads! Anyone can actually enter (to pray) but no cameras allowed when you're at the pews. Tama lang diba? Ah, many Pinoys may wonder what I am saying, di kasi ganoon ka-dami ang turista sa churches natin.
Anyway, here are a few more notes about the cathedral:
Its official name is Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, but for many people, the shorter name is Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon, or Saigon Cathedral. Pinoys say "cathedral"!
Pinoys? Yes. Our kababayans are very active in this parish - from choir members to lectors to even the pastoral council, I am told. So, if you hear that familiar twang of English, leading the rosary before the 9:30AM mass, alams na! How'd I know that? Well me nakatabi ako, yun ang ikinikwento sa kasama nya!
The atrebida me listened-in, nagtanung-tanong pa, and took notes! Imagine, sila daw ang nag-hikayat sa mga pari to also do their "simbang gabi", just like how it's done in the Philippines! Isn't that lovely?
This church pala, started as just made of wood in 1863. Then in 1877, a bigger (and better) stone-made church was started, and finished in 3 years. All expenses were shouldered by their French government and all materials were shipped from France. That is why it was originally named the "State Cathedral".
Out in the front garden, the (crying) Mama Mary statue is made of granite, and also came from France in 1959. Teka, eh talagang crying ang face nya and the "tears" are colored red for emphasis. Hindi kaya yun ang pinag-hinalaang lumuha ng dugo noong 2005? Oops sa kanan daw dumaloy? Wheh? Ewan ko!
Oh, it was in and around 1959, after the statue was installed, that the cathedral started to be called as Notre-Dame Cathedral. The statue by the way, is Our Lady of Peace. Anyway, what cannot be denied is the fact that this beautiful cathedral is the center of Catholicism in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Vietnam.
Teka, trivia pa more! I noticed the signage on both sides of the cathedral declared the street name as "Công xã Paris". Syempre pa, hindi yan pinalagpas ng atrebida kong kamahalan! I asked my guide, how come both streets had the same name. She explained that it's not a street name but a square (parang plaza natin). She told me Công trường Công xã Paris means Paris Commune Square. Yun! Naman pala!
The whole block where the cathedral and the Mama Mary Statue are located, is naman pala singularly called the Paris Commune Square! Ah okay, parang 'Plaza De Armas' o 'Plaza Miranda' kumbaga sa'tin.
Okay na, happy na ako. Kaso ginanahan si ineng tour guide na magkwento pa. Abe eh, di nakinig ako!
Originally daw, it was called the Place de la Cathédrale (French yan, kaya dapat ang bigkas ng "place" eh hindi "plays", para syang "ples" na medyo pa-sosyal). Sa English eh Cathedral Square lang naman!
Tapos daw, noong 1903, it was renamed into "Place Pigneau de Béhaine" French Catholic Priest yan, at meron statue nilagay dyan na akay-akay nya ang batang si Prince Cảnh (Nguyễn Phúc Cảnh) dahil daw sumama sa kanya ang batang prince puntang Paris upang lumagda sa isang France-Vietnam whatever!
Ayos din ang history nila 'no? Parang si Padre Damaso lang na binitbit ang batang-bata na Crisostomo Ibarra papuntang España para pumirma sa isang makasaysayang kasunduang pangkaalipinan! Ganun!
In 1945 sa di malamang kadahilanan, inalis daw ang rebulto ng pari at nung batang prinsipe, pedestal lang ang natira. Then, in 1959 when the Our Lady of Peace Statue was installed, it was renamed "Peace Square" or "Hòa Bình Square" ("Công trường Hòa Bình"). Pero, 'di pa dyan natapos ang name changes!
In 1964, after JFK was assassinated, they renamed it, this time to "President John F. Kennedy Square" or "Công trường Tổng thống John F. Kennedy" to honor him - and that was not also the end of it (yet)!
Finally, after the "Fall of Saigon" in 1975, the name was reverted back to Công trường Công xã Paris or Paris Commune Square! O di ba la? Who kows, maybe in the future, they may want to rename it again!
So ano ngayon, what's in it for us Pinoy Travelers? Wala lang, just nice to know historical bits-n-pieces from our neighboring country! Malay mo magamit mo ang mga dagdag kaalaman na yan in the future!
Ang aliw, kung naghahanap ka ng mga Pinoy sa Saigon, surely me makikita ka sa cathedral na yan!
Let's go elsewhere!
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