Phu Cam Cathedral Hue: Oldest Catholic Church in Vietnam

Phu Cam Catholic Church is one of the famous landmarks of Hue Ancient Capital with an age of nearly 400 years. Possessing ancient Western architecture, Phu Cam Cathedral is an extremely hot check-in point for many travel enthusiasts. In Hue travel, besides discovering famous sightseeing places, delicious food, Phu Cam church is also a destination chosen by many tourists. Experiencing many ups and downs of history, today's Phu Cam church still retains its quiet, ancient features like the West sky in the dreamy land of Hue.

• Location: 1 Doan Huu Trung, Phuoc Vinh, City. Hue, T. Thua Thien Hue
• Opening Hours: 24 Hours for Visiting Outside
• Dress Code: Comfortable Clothes
• Mass Schedule at Phu Cam Cathedral in Hue
  • Phu Cam Church Weekday Mass Hours: 05:00 - 18:00
  • Sunday Mass at Phu Cam Church: 05:30 - 08:00 - 15:00 - 18:30

Where is Phu Cam Catholic Church in Hue?

In the Hue tourist map, Phu Cam church has the address at 1 Doan Huu Trung, Phuoc Vinh, City. Hue, T. Thua Thien Hue. Located on Phuoc Qua hill, on the south bank of the Perfume River, Phu Cam Hue cathedral owns a rather favorable location, a large view with a campus of works of the Archdiocese of Hue, so it is very beautiful. solemn and full of antiquity.

History of Phu Cam Catholic Church in Hue:

In the 17th century, under the Nguyen lords, "Phu Cam" was originally a palace, the residence of princes. At that time, most of the Catholic churches in Hue were simple chapels with wooden slopes and thatched roofs. When the Vietnamese kings had rules to ban Catholic, they were all destroyed.

During the French colonial period, the churches were rebuilt and gradually upgraded to be more spacious and superficial. Phu Cam Church is one such case. In 1682, priest Langlois built the Phu Cam chapel with bamboo pictures in Da hamlet, close to the An Cuu river.

Two years later, the priest demolished this chapel and bought land on Phuoc Qua hill to build a larger and solid stone church, at which time the church turned to the west. It was a big, sure work and was admired by Lord Nguyen Phuc Tan. But by the time of Lord Nguyen Phuc Chu, in 1698, that church was completely demolished.

Two centuries later, in 1898, Bishop Eugène Marie Allys (Bishop Ly) built a new Phu Cam Church with bricks, a rather massive tiled roof in the old position but facing the North. This work was designed and supervised by the Bishop himself and was completed in 1902.

In 1960, after the Diocese of Hue was elevated to the rank of archdioc building a new cathedral with a project by architect Ngo Viet Thu.

In early 1963, the church began to be built. While construction was underway, a coup d'état occurred on November 1, 1963, President Ngo Dinh Diem was murdered and Archbishop Ngo Dinh Thuc was at the time attending Vatican II in Rome. The political scene did not return to Vietnam, the construction also stalled.

Although construction was still underway, progress was very slow, until 1967 the church was only able to reach the sanctuary. During the Tet Offensive (1968), bombs and bullets damaged most of the church's construction and the construction faced many obstacles until before 1975, it was not completed.

After 1975, due to circumstances, all construction work was slow, and by 1995, the body of the church was basically completed.

In 1999, in preparation for June 28 and 29, 2000, the Archdiocese of Hue dedicated Phu Cam Cathedral on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the founding of Hue Diocese, Archbishop Stephen Nguyen Van The determined by all means to complete the decorations inside the church and the two bell towers in front of the street. Construction was completed in May 2000.

Thus, after 3 generations of bishops - from Archbishop Ngo Dinh Thuc to Archbishop Nguyen Kim Dien and Archbishop Nguyen Nhu The - after nearly 40 years of construction, the new Phu Cam cathedral was completed with looks like it is today.

Architecture of Phu Cam Cathedral in Hue:

Phu Cam Hue Cathedral was officially completed in May 2000 and also on the 150th anniversary of the founding of Hue Diocese. This church building has a plan built in the shape of a cross with the top facing the South, the foot facing the North - the main direction of the church. The main facade of the building has a 3-part layout including: the main hall, the cathedral in the middle and the two towering bell towers on either side.

The structure of Phu Cam church was built with the most modern techniques at that time with concrete and reinforced materials. The bearing structure system is considered as the key point, creating a unique feature for the architecture and interior of the building.

Besides the main materials are reinforced concrete, Phu Cam church still uses materials such as stone, wood, terracotta tiles for the foundation, columns and roof. The overall architecture of the building is somewhat modern, the architecture is impressive and powerful, but still bears the religious culture of the ancient capital. The church's window system is designed with arched crosses in the middle.

Moving inside the cathedral, you will admire the system of supporting columns, roof pillars designed close to the two sides of the wall, impressively curved to form a soft dome system, symbolizing the images of the temples. parishioners are praying.

The middle area, including the walkway and the prayer seating area with a fairly large area, can accommodate up to 3000 people. The empty wall area on either side is hung with pictures in wooden frames, representing the life of Jesus.

The main altar is placed close to the back of the church, on a high solemn pedestal. The cross is made of old pine wood, placed on a higher area with a circular shape and many steps going up.

How to Get to Phu Cam Cathedral in Hue?

In the Hue travel schedule, visitors can go to Phu Cam Church by the following route: From the city center. In Hue, move to Dong Da Street, turn right onto Hai Ba Trung. Then continue to go to Phan Dinh Phung street, turn left to Nguyen Truong To. From here, you go to Ham Nghi - Doan Huu Trung junction, turn right and you will see Phu Cam Hue cathedral.

Adventure Journey

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