Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica officially the Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception is a cathedral located in the downtown of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. It was established by French colonists and the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. There are two bell towers reaching a height of 58 metres (190 feet).

All the original building materials were imported from France. Tiles have been carved with the words Guichard Carvin, Marseille St André France (perhaps stating the locality where the tiles were produced). Some tiles are carved with the words “Wang-Tai Saigon”. Many tiles have since been made in Ho Chi Minh City to replace the tiles that were damaged by the war. There are 56 glass squares supplied by the Lorin firm of Chartres province in France. The cathedral foundation was designed to bear ten times the weight of the cathedral.

In 1960, Pope John XXIII erected Roman Catholic dioceses in Vietnam and assigned archbishops to Hanoi, Huế and Saigon. The cathedral was titled Saigon Chief Cathedral. In 1962, Pope John XXIII anointed the Saigon Chief Cathedral, and conferred it the status of a basilica. This cathedral is now called Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica.

 

This postcard was posted in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday 21 August 2015 and received in Singapore on Monday 31 August 2015.