Basilicas in Asia

I blogged about the following basilica on December 9, 2019.

• Co-Cathedral and Basilica of the Twenty-Six Holy Martyrs of Japan, Nagasaki, Japan.

I blogged about the following basilica on March 3, 2020.

• Basilica of Our Lady, Help of Christians, Shanghai, China.

I blogged about the following basilica on May 28, 2021.

• Cathedral Basilica of Notre Dame, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Basilica of Our Lady of La Vang, La Vang, Vietnam

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John XXIII in 1961.

Catholics were being persecuted by the government of Viet Nam in the late 1700s and early 1800s.  Vietnamese Catholics saw an apparition of Our Lady with the Infant Jesus.  Pilgrimages began and a chapel was built in 1820.  This chapel was destroyed during another wave of persecution and was replaced in the late 1800s.  This church—the Basilica—was destroyed in 1972 during the Vietnam War.  A new church is expected to be built in 2023.

Both pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Xuan Truong, Vietnam

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.

The Neo-Gothic Basilica is the third church on this site since 1866.  It was completed in 1933 and is administered by Spanish Dominicans.  In front of the Basilica are two monuments—one is a tomb for 83 martyrs and the other is a pillar topped with a statue of St. Dominic.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Immaculate Mary, Kien Khe, Vietnam

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.

The Gothic church was built between 1877 and 1883 and served as the Cathedral for the Archdiocese of Hanoi until 1936.  It is the oldest Catholic church in Vietnam, can hold 4,000 to 5,000 people, and its floor is made of ironwood to keep it from sinking.  The main altar is made of carved wood lacquered in gold in a Vietnamese style.

All pictures are from local sources.

Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Wanluan Township, Taiwan

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1984.

The Basilica, also known as the Wanchin Church, began as a small mud church constructed by a Dominican priest.  An earthquake destroyed that building in 1863 and it was replaced in 1870.  20th Century renovations have resulted in the current building, which resembles a Spanish fort.

 

Pictures are from Wikipedia, Pinterest, and Flickr.

Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Rosary, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1995.

The Basilica is the Cathedral for the Diocese of Kaohsiung.  The church was originally built in 1860 by Filipinos and expanded in 1928.  It is the oldest Catholic church in Taiwan and was built using Gothic and Romanesque styles.

The first picture is from Flickr and the other two are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Anne, Bukit Mertajam, Malaysia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2019.

Chinese Catholics came to this area in the 1830s and were under the spiritual care of French missionaries.  A church was built in the 1830s, a second in 1865, and a third in 1888.  After the Second World War, the British, who controlled Malaysia, were concerned that the Chinese who lived in this area might be Communists.  Severe restrictions were placed on the church grounds until 1960 and activities at the church did not commence until 1977.  The current Basilica was built between 1998 and 2002.  It is made of brick and holds 2,200 people.  About 100,000 people come each year to celebrate the Feast of St. Anne.

The first picture is from the basilica website, the second from TripAdvisor, and the last two from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of Lanka, Tewatta, Sri Lanka

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1973.

A chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes was dedicated in 1911 which was expanded into a church in the 1930s.  During the Second World War, the Archbishop of Colombo vowed that if Sri Lanka was spared major warfare, he would build a basilica to honor Our Lady of Lanka.  He died before this promise could be kept but his successors took on the mission.  The Basilica was built between 1950 and 1974. 

The first three pictures are from local sources and the last is from Wikipedia.