Danang Cathedral
In the previous story, we ended with the two icons I saw on the taxi dashboard, and I said: I was not sure if those were for two different Buddhist-based religions or not.
Counting The Religious
You probably already know that Vietnam is an Atheist country. That means majority of the population don't believe in a God, therefore not many have a religion. Ganoon!
74% of Vietnam say they don't have any religious affiliation. 14% practice Mahayana Buddhism. 10% are Catholics. The rest are a scattering of various sects and beliefs.
But in Danang City with a population of about 1.2 million, only more than 6.3% have a religion. Catholics are the "maniest" at about 42,000 or 3.5% of the city population.
Meaning: of Danang folks who say they believe in God, many of them are Catholics. Though in all Vietnam, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) has the most number of Catholics.
The Cathedral
So yes there's Christianity, notably Catholicism! Yes, in Vietnam. Oh yes, in Danang!
Giáo Xứ Chính Toà Đà Nẵng in Vietnamese; Paroisse de la Cathédrale de Danang in French; Parroquia de la Catedral de Danang in Spanish; or Danang Cathedral Parish.
Pink Talk
Most commonly referred to as the Pink Church, that, is the designated home of the Diocese of Danang. And yes, it has been a mainstay item in Danang Tour Itineraries.
People who refer to it as The Pink Church got that term from the unique attractively pink church color. It is easier to say, than The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus!
Oist! Did you know there are other pink churches in Vietnam? This one in Danang is a pink cathedral. In Saigon (HCMC), Tân Định Church is called The Pink Church too.
But in the Philippines, we have so many churches old and new that are colored pink, right? It is not anything to be amazed about any longer! At hindi yan LGBTQA+ ha?!
Pero come to think of it, pwede na rin, di ba fatherette? Aminin na kung 5 kilometers away eh kita na ang tilamsik ng mga daliri mo, at indayog ng szeksing valakang mo!
Hey seriously, pink has an important meaning in our Catholic Church Practices. For example, it is mainly used on the 3rd Sunday of Advent and the 4th Sunday of Lent.
Of course, the Mystical Rose or Rosa Mystica, one of the symbolic designations of Mama Mary in the Litany of Loreto, is always portrayed in 'rose' color, a pink shade.
Chicken & Rooster Talk
If you are Catholic and you hear tourists or locals refer to it as The Rooster Church, or The Chicken Church, don't be offended. They do not mean that to be derogatory.
It is just a "descriptive" that many non-Catholic people use to identify the church. It came from the rooster-like Wind Vane as base of the lightning rod atop the church!
I was amused to learn from a priest that: that phrase has even evolved into variants like Chicken Chapel, Cathedral of Roosters, Chicken Cathedral and more expected!
Trivia: someone told me, there once was a Pinoy Priest (now bishop) who suggested that the rooster wind vane be removed from up there, so that tour guides and locals would stop calling it Chicken Cathedral, but he was opposed by the Danang Diocese!
Bhelat! Ang Pinoy talaga... Naisip ko nalang.., juice ko si monsi, ang shallow!
I was also told by an insider that they have discovered by-and-by, that the rooster up there had been interpreted in many ways, by locals and vistors alike. Example: it is a symbol of repentance and awakening (St. Peter's parable; Ang Manok Ni San Pedro)!
Plus there is a 'school-of-thought' among historians and scholars, that the rooster is a symbol of the colonizing country. Le Coq Gaulois is an emblem of France, to date!
Me, I believe in that last one (linya naman tayo sa mga iskolar para kunwari profound)!
Tourane Church or Tourane Cathedral
That is yet another name of this church! If you hear that name, don't be confused! It was built in 1923, finished in 1924 as the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Tourane.
Tourane was the French Colonial Period name of this city, before it was renamed to Danang. Some stories or histories you encounter may still be using Tourane Church.
It has many names but it's the same beautiful European-style Cathedral in Danang.
My Experience
As you can see in the pictures, there were lots of people visiting. Many were in tour groups (as in bus-loads of them), while others were touring on their own or couples.
A Solemn Christmas Day Mass BUT...
Napansin ko lang.., many of the K-folks came to attend Christmas Day Service. Many of the J-folks and others were quiet, WHILE as usual, all of them busloads from the "mainland" were so irritatingly noisy, me pasigaw-sigaw pa, parang mga taga-huron!
Chinese Tour Groups Are A Menace
I could see directly or via my peripheral vision, that many who attended the one and only English-language Christmas Day Mass (10AM) were annoyed at the mga insik.
Imagine this: on that Christmas Day Mass, all of you are quiet, the priest is solemnly reciting "take this all of you and eat of it", then you hear somebody shrieking on top of her voice "ee ar san, chi zi"! Tangina di ba? Parang lampas na sa lahat ng bad trip eh!
Lalo na kung nakaka-intindi ka ng kahit konting salita nila. Kasi ibig sabihin nyan eh "1 2 3 talong"! Ayun, ang "eat of it" na bread, ay biglang naging eggplant! Ka-atay ba!
Imagine the silence in your Chritmas Day Mass as the priest says "through him, with him and in him..." then an old woman starts shouting "ar ziii, ni zai naaa"? Gago di ba?
They Will/Should/Must Be Gone Someday
Haay! The only consolation that play in my mind is: it's not only in Europe that these tourist groups from mainland china of ping ping ping are hated. It is now worldwide!
A Well-Maintained Cathedral
Anyway, I must tell you that the surroundings of this cathedral is well maintained.
Front side back, it is clean everywhere. Nice to walk around the grounds. Hwag lang nagkakalat iyang mga taga-mainland. At tumahimik sana sila, parang ingay-pabo e!
Some Mass-Goers Help Clean Up
Oist, if you notice from the pictures, there are too many stacked monobloc chairs.
Parang s'atin din. During big ceremonies, they put out those chairs for people to sit outside, kasi apaw na. After the service, kanya-kanya silang patong nung mga silya.
Syempre tumulong din ako. That was one reason we were there, in the first place!
It's A 'Local Spectacle' Pala!
Ah someone told me, local folks pala who are not necessarily Catholics, also come to this church during holiday masses, just to see and witness the colorful activities!
But they are never noisy, and they even help out after the celebrations.
Diocese of Danang Bishop's House
You out front facing the façade, you'll see this at right facing the side of the church.
It's a wide quadrangular edifice with a nice garden in the center. Hey, there is even a chapel there, but I guess that's private to the Bishop and other habitués of the house.
That is where we had our Christmas Day activity. Hush lang, bawal yatang i-kwento! But, just looking at it from outside, is enough for one to appreciate the architecture.
Why is the compound a tourist spot?
I am guessing, tourists from all corners of the globe are brought not necessarily for appreciation of the Catholic faith, but for their old European-style (French) buildings.
Plus of course, it is a church. There are No Entrance Fees for the tour agencies and guides to bother about! Totally free, but scammers are selling fake entrance tickets!
And totally free that those groups of mainland chinese ignoramuses can shout their lungs out while visiting this sacred house of worship! Ah, they're friends of Vietnam.
Halika, let's go elsewhere. Pasyal pa more!
Counting The Religious
You probably already know that Vietnam is an Atheist country. That means majority of the population don't believe in a God, therefore not many have a religion. Ganoon!
74% of Vietnam say they don't have any religious affiliation. 14% practice Mahayana Buddhism. 10% are Catholics. The rest are a scattering of various sects and beliefs.
But in Danang City with a population of about 1.2 million, only more than 6.3% have a religion. Catholics are the "maniest" at about 42,000 or 3.5% of the city population.
Meaning: of Danang folks who say they believe in God, many of them are Catholics. Though in all Vietnam, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) has the most number of Catholics.
The Cathedral
So yes there's Christianity, notably Catholicism! Yes, in Vietnam. Oh yes, in Danang!
Pink Talk
Most commonly referred to as the Pink Church, that, is the designated home of the Diocese of Danang. And yes, it has been a mainstay item in Danang Tour Itineraries.
People who refer to it as The Pink Church got that term from the unique attractively pink church color. It is easier to say, than The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus!
Oist! Did you know there are other pink churches in Vietnam? This one in Danang is a pink cathedral. In Saigon (HCMC), Tân Định Church is called The Pink Church too.
But in the Philippines, we have so many churches old and new that are colored pink, right? It is not anything to be amazed about any longer! At hindi yan LGBTQA+ ha?!
Pero come to think of it, pwede na rin, di ba fatherette? Aminin na kung 5 kilometers away eh kita na ang tilamsik ng mga daliri mo, at indayog ng szeksing valakang mo!
Hey seriously, pink has an important meaning in our Catholic Church Practices. For example, it is mainly used on the 3rd Sunday of Advent and the 4th Sunday of Lent.
Of course, the Mystical Rose or Rosa Mystica, one of the symbolic designations of Mama Mary in the Litany of Loreto, is always portrayed in 'rose' color, a pink shade.
Chicken & Rooster Talk
If you are Catholic and you hear tourists or locals refer to it as The Rooster Church, or The Chicken Church, don't be offended. They do not mean that to be derogatory.
It is just a "descriptive" that many non-Catholic people use to identify the church. It came from the rooster-like Wind Vane as base of the lightning rod atop the church!
I was amused to learn from a priest that: that phrase has even evolved into variants like Chicken Chapel, Cathedral of Roosters, Chicken Cathedral and more expected!
Trivia: someone told me, there once was a Pinoy Priest (now bishop) who suggested that the rooster wind vane be removed from up there, so that tour guides and locals would stop calling it Chicken Cathedral, but he was opposed by the Danang Diocese!
Bhelat! Ang Pinoy talaga... Naisip ko nalang.., juice ko si monsi, ang shallow!
I was also told by an insider that they have discovered by-and-by, that the rooster up there had been interpreted in many ways, by locals and vistors alike. Example: it is a symbol of repentance and awakening (St. Peter's parable; Ang Manok Ni San Pedro)!
Plus there is a 'school-of-thought' among historians and scholars, that the rooster is a symbol of the colonizing country. Le Coq Gaulois is an emblem of France, to date!
Me, I believe in that last one (linya naman tayo sa mga iskolar para kunwari profound)!
Tourane Church or Tourane Cathedral
That is yet another name of this church! If you hear that name, don't be confused! It was built in 1923, finished in 1924 as the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Tourane.
Tourane was the French Colonial Period name of this city, before it was renamed to Danang. Some stories or histories you encounter may still be using Tourane Church.
It has many names but it's the same beautiful European-style Cathedral in Danang.
My Experience
As you can see in the pictures, there were lots of people visiting. Many were in tour groups (as in bus-loads of them), while others were touring on their own or couples.
A Solemn Christmas Day Mass BUT...
Napansin ko lang.., many of the K-folks came to attend Christmas Day Service. Many of the J-folks and others were quiet, WHILE as usual, all of them busloads from the "mainland" were so irritatingly noisy, me pasigaw-sigaw pa, parang mga taga-huron!
Chinese Tour Groups Are A Menace
I could see directly or via my peripheral vision, that many who attended the one and only English-language Christmas Day Mass (10AM) were annoyed at the mga insik.
Imagine this: on that Christmas Day Mass, all of you are quiet, the priest is solemnly reciting "take this all of you and eat of it", then you hear somebody shrieking on top of her voice "ee ar san, chi zi"! Tangina di ba? Parang lampas na sa lahat ng bad trip eh!
Lalo na kung nakaka-intindi ka ng kahit konting salita nila. Kasi ibig sabihin nyan eh "1 2 3 talong"! Ayun, ang "eat of it" na bread, ay biglang naging eggplant! Ka-atay ba!
Imagine the silence in your Chritmas Day Mass as the priest says "through him, with him and in him..." then an old woman starts shouting "ar ziii, ni zai naaa"? Gago di ba?
They Will/Should/Must Be Gone Someday
Haay! The only consolation that play in my mind is: it's not only in Europe that these tourist groups from mainland china of ping ping ping are hated. It is now worldwide!
A Well-Maintained Cathedral
Anyway, I must tell you that the surroundings of this cathedral is well maintained.
Some Mass-Goers Help Clean Up
Oist, if you notice from the pictures, there are too many stacked monobloc chairs.
Syempre tumulong din ako. That was one reason we were there, in the first place!
It's A 'Local Spectacle' Pala!
Ah someone told me, local folks pala who are not necessarily Catholics, also come to this church during holiday masses, just to see and witness the colorful activities!
But they are never noisy, and they even help out after the celebrations.
Diocese of Danang Bishop's House
You out front facing the façade, you'll see this at right facing the side of the church.
That is where we had our Christmas Day activity. Hush lang, bawal yatang i-kwento! But, just looking at it from outside, is enough for one to appreciate the architecture.
Why is the compound a tourist spot?
I am guessing, tourists from all corners of the globe are brought not necessarily for appreciation of the Catholic faith, but for their old European-style (French) buildings.
Plus of course, it is a church. There are No Entrance Fees for the tour agencies and guides to bother about! Totally free, but scammers are selling fake entrance tickets!
And totally free that those groups of mainland chinese ignoramuses can shout their lungs out while visiting this sacred house of worship! Ah, they're friends of Vietnam.
Halika, let's go elsewhere. Pasyal pa more!
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