Phat Diem Stone Cathedral: An Unique Church in Ninh Binh

Phat Diem Stone Cathedral (Vietnamese: Nhà Thờ Đá Phát Diệm or Nhà Thờ Chính Toà Phát Diệm) is one of the most famous and beautiful churches in Vietnam with special architecture: an elegant combination between Western church architecture style and Vietnamese Buddhist Religious buildings.

• Location: 75 Phát Diệm Đông, Kim Sơn, Ninh Bình.
• Best for: Family, couple, solo
• Entrance Fee: Free of Charge
• Opening Hours: 9AM-5PM
• Dress Code: Comfortable Clothes

History of Phat Diem Stone Cathedral in Ninh Binh:

It took about 24 years to build this Stone Church from 1875 to 1898. And as its name suggests, it was completely built of stone and wood that are readily available in the mountain area of Ninh Binh Province. The preparation phase, mainly extracting materials from limestone mountains, took the local people as many as 10 years to finish.

Phát Diệm Stone Cathedral was built by the priest Father Trần Lục (Père Six in French, or cụ Sáu in Vietnamese). Père Six's tomb is now in the frontyard of the cathedral. The wooden statues in the cathedral were all carved by Mr Pho Gia, a Vietnamese artisan. The novelist Graham Greene described the cathedral as "more Buddhist than Christian" in his novel the Quiet American.

After the 1954 Geneva Convention, many of its parishioners and clergy moved to safer places in the South of Vietnam. Ninh Binh Stone Cathedral is still functioning as a place of worship, and there are many more churches in the district were built.

On 15 August 1972, the stone cathedral was bombed, resulting in the collapse of its entire west wall, the convents and two of the schools. But now, after restoration, there are not even tell-tale marks of this destruction.

Architecture & Structure of Phat Diem Stone Cathedral:

Phat Diem church complex includes 1 large church and 5 small churches (including one church built entirely of natural stone, called stone church), 1 communal house (bell tower), pond/lake and 3 artificial caves. Mr Nguyen Van Giao, a guide to the church, said: "It is very true to say that this project resembles a pagoda.

Father Peter Tran Luc wishes that, through this work, the nature of harmony and integration can be expressed through this work. between Catholicism and the nation's architectural culture as well as the harmony between Catholicism and other religions in Vietnam, showing solidarity":

- Pond: A rectangular lake, about 4 hectares wide, surrounded by stone embankments, facing the road from Phat Diem town leading to the church. In the middle of the lake is an island on which there is a statue of Jesus.

- Phuong Dinh: completed in 1899, is an architectural work 25m high, 17m wide, 24m long, consisting of three floors built of slate, the largest being the bottom floor built of green stone. On the 4 tops of the tower there are 4 statues of the four saints, which from the contours, postures to the lines of the clouds, make it easy to mistake them for the statues in Vietnamese temples. The stone arches are assembled to a sophisticated level. In the middle of Phuong Dinh is a cave made of monolithic stone, outside and inside are reliefs carved on stone with images of Jesus and saints with elegant lines.

The second floor of Phuong Dinh hangs a large drum. The third floor hangs a bell 1.4m high, 1.1m in diameter, weighing nearly 2000kg. The big bell in Phuong Dinh was cast in 1890. A distant bell is likened to all three provinces (Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh and Thanh Hoa) heard. The roof of Phat Diem church is not towering like a Western-style church, but an ancient curved roof like that of a communal house or a pagoda.

- Big Cathedral: The main church was inaugurated in 1891 with the title of Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, now the cathedral of Bishop Phat Diem. The cathedral is 74m long, 21m wide, 15m high, has four roofs and has five entrances under carved stone arches. In the church, there are 6 rows of ironwood columns (48 columns) monolithic, the middle two rows of columns are up to 11m high, 2.35m in circumference, each column weighs about 10 tons. The atrium of the cathedral has a large altar made of a monolithic slab 3m long, 0.9m wide, 0.8m high, weighing about 20 tons.

The front and sides are carved with typical flowers of the four seasons, making the altar look like it is covered with a bright jelly-colored scarf. On both sides of the church there are four small churches with harmonious architecture, each with its own characteristics.

- The four small churches are independent chapels on either side of the large church:

• Church of the Heart of Jesus (1889) Northeast direction
• Saint Roco's Church (1895) Southeast
• Saint Joseph's Church (1896) Southwest direction
• Peter's Church (1896) to the northwest.

- Three artificial caves in the north of Phat Diem church, about 100m apart, are made of different large and small stone blocks keeping their natural appearance. There are large statues on the caves.

• Birthday Mountain: Originally named Burial Mountain, built in 1875, it is also the first work built on a very large scale for the purpose of testing the settlement of newly accreted soil. Since 1954, it was renamed to Birthday Mountain or the current Bethlehem cave.
• Mount Lourdes: originally named Garden of Gethsemane (transliterated from Gethsemane), built in 1896, renamed Lourdes cave in 1925.
• Skull Mountain: built in 1898, originally the cave of Bethlehem. In 1957, the statue of the crucified Lord was placed, hence the name Skull Mountain.

- Stone Church: built in 1883, bearing the title Chapel of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Located separately in the Northwest, this is the first church built in this complex, also known as the stone church because everything in this church is made of stone, from the foundation, walls, columns. Inside, there are many beautiful reliefs carved inside, especially the carvings of the four quarters: juniper, apricot, chrysanthemum, bamboo, symbolizing the weather and the beauty of the four seasons in a year. The lines depicting animals such as lions and phoenixes are incredibly vivid.

Phat Diem Cathedral MASS TIMES IN PARISHES

•  Note: 18:00 - Last Night's Vigil Mass
• Baptize: Every First Friday of Month; 9:00 - Summer; 9h30 - Winter.

Best Time to Visit and How to Get to Phat Diem Cathedral:

You can go to Phat Diem Church at any time of the year, combined with your trip to Ninh Binh. However, the most suitable time to visit Phat Diem Church is probably on Christmas day. Because there will be the largest community activities of the parishioners here.

At the time of Christmas Eve, there will be many meaningful activities of Catholic People here. Especially elaborately decorated and prepared that will make visitors bewildered by the splendid beauty of Phat Diem Stone Church at night.

To get to Phat Diem Stone Church, you need to travel to Ninh Binh first. From Hanoi, you can travel with Car/Taxi/Motorbike about 2 hours (120km) directly to the Cathedral. If you travel by train (Hanoi – Ninh Binh) then from Ninh Binh Train Station you can go here by taxi or motorbike.

Adventure Journey

See Also:

• Ninh Binh Vietnam Travel Guide: Things You Need to Know
• Best Things to Do and Places to Visit in Ninh Binh, Vietnam