NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL - SAIGON URBAN ARCHITECTURAL MASTERPIECE

One of the first Catholic Churches in Saigon

Churches - an architecture that goes along with a new type of religion that was introduced to our country by missionaries in the 16th century. By the 19th century, churches and Catholicism developed strongly following the French expeditionary troops. Right after the French occupied Saigon - Gia Dinh for the second time (in 1862), along with urban construction, developing Saigon into the capital of Cochinchina, the French government built churches to serve as places of worship for Catholics. The first church was built on Street No. 5 (now Ngo Duc Ke Street), which was an old Vietnamese pagoda abandoned due to war.

In 1863, Admiral Bonard ordered the construction of a new, larger cathedral to meet the growing needs of Catholicism. The building was built of wood and completed in 1865; it was called Saigon Cathedral. Due to the wooden construction materials, the scale was limited and later it was damaged by termites, so a large cathedral project was formed.

In August 1876, the Governor of Cochinchina, Duperré, organized an architectural design competition for the new church. In addition to meeting the religious needs of the believers, this project also aimed to show off Catholicism and Western civilization to the local people. From an urban planning perspective, the project is both an important highlight in the urban space and demonstrates the diversity of urban architecture and culture. Architect J. Bourad won, surpassing 17 other participating projects. His project has a modified Romanesque architectural style mixed with Gothic. The initial construction location was proposed in 3 places, and finally decided on the current location; in the Paris Commune Square, the center of District 1. The main facade of the church faces Southeast, towards Nguyen Du Street, with its back facing the current Le Duan Street.

It was also the architect J. Bourad who won the construction contract and he directly organized the construction and supervised the project. On October 7, 1877, Bishop Isidore Colombert laid the first stone in the groundbreaking ceremony in front of the Vice Marshal of Cochinchina and many important figures of the government at that time. After 3 years of construction, on Easter, April 11, 1880, the dedication and inauguration ceremony of the project was solemnly organized by Father Colombert with the presence of the Governor of Cochinchina Le Myre de Vilers.

All costs for construction and interior decoration of the building were covered by the Governor of Cochinchina. The total amount at that time was 2,500,000 French francs. And so, at first, the building was called the State Church, built and managed by the French government.

Changes over the years

Initially, the architecture of the two church bell towers was not as it is now. These two bell towers were built with additional roofs in 1895. The bell towers are located in the front, symmetrical on both sides, after completion, they were 57.6m high; containing 6 large bronze bells with a total weight of 28.85 tons. On top of each tower is a cross, the height from the ground to the top of the cross is 60.5m. Although the two bell towers were completed later, they contributed to increasing the architectural value of the building, making the building perfect.

In front of the Church is a flower garden separated from the Church hall by a traffic path on the square. In 1903, the French government built a bronze statue of Pigneau de Béhaine (also known as Bishop Adran because he was the titular Bishop of Adran) leading Prince Canh (son of King Gia Long) to praise the French "protectorate" and "civilization" of Vietnam. By 1945, this bronze statue was demolished, but the red marble pedestal still remains. In 1959, Father GiPham Van Thien, who was in charge of the Saigon Parish at that time, attended the Marian congress at the Vatican and ordered the carving of a statue of Our Lady of Peace from a rare marble. The statue was sent from Rome - Italy to Saigon - Vietnam by waterway. On February 16, 1959, Father GiPham Van Thien held a ceremony to erect the statue on the pedestal (still empty since 1945) and gave it the title of Queen of Peace. One day later (February 17, 1959), Cardinal Aganianian from Rome came to Saigon to preside over the closing ceremony of the Marian Congress, and blessed the statue. And from then on, the church was called Notre Dame Cathedral.

In 1960, the Vatican established the Vietnamese hierarchy with three archbishoprics in Hanoi, Hue and Saigon. This cathedral was named Saigon Cathedral. In 1962, Saigon Cathedral was conferred the title of Basilica. This is a special title of honor given by the Pope to a number of churches or sanctuaries based on their antiquity, historical importance and spiritual significance to the Roman Catholic Church.

Architectural masterpiece of Saigon city

Until now, after 130 years, through many political and historical changes, Notre Dame Cathedral is still a masterpiece of architecture of Saigon city. Fortunately, it was not destroyed by war like many other buildings, but time seems to be unable to fade the splendor of this unique architecture. As a very special building in terms of planning - located in the middle of the square, adjacent to the square traffic space, without any fences or adjacent grounds; the church is a highlight in the urban space; has beautiful views from all sides. During construction, most of the construction and decoration materials were transferred from France such as bricks, tiles, iron, steel, cement, decorative stained glass and structures, metal accessories...

The foundation of the building is specially designed, able to withstand 10 times the load of the church's architectural block above. Another special feature is that the surface of the building is built entirely of bare bricks and bluestone, without any plastering, with meticulous calculations, precise components, and surprisingly standard proportions. The original bricks and roof tiles were transported from Marseille. Up to now, the surface of the building made of bare bricks still retains the bright pink brick color, without moss or mold. Later, due to damage, some components such as roof tiles were replaced with domestically produced types. The entire cathedral has 56 stained glass windows produced by Lorin of Chartres province (France).

The basilica is 133m long, from the door to the wall of the back reading room, and 35m wide. The building is symmetrical, with the height gradually decreasing towards the back; with the highest peak being the bell tower in the front, to the main hall, the round apse of the choir and the chapels, and the reading room at the back. The architectural and decorative details all follow the Roman and Gothic style - solemn and elegant.

The interior of the cathedral includes the main hall (main room) in the middle, and two side rooms, followed by the chapels. The main hall is 21m high, separated from the two side rooms by a row of arched columns combined with steel pillars supporting the roof dome. This space for ceremonies and prayers can accommodate 1,200 people. The side chapels are where small altars are placed, with elaborate stone altars and statues. The main altar in the Sanctuary is made of a single block of marble with the shape of 6 angels supporting the altar. The altar is divided into 3 compartments, which also contain sculptures with Christian historical content. On the wall, there are 56 stained glass windows depicting characters and events in the Bible, but also interspersed with many Eastern motifs and images. Unfortunately, very few of the glass windows are intact today.

The architecture of the cathedral has created a wonderful lighting effect in the interior, giving a feeling of tranquility, holiness and solemnity. The magical light also makes the architectural details and interior of the cathedral stand out and become more beautiful.
Above the main door is the choir loft - where the pipe organ, one of the oldest in Vietnam, is kept. This organ is completely handcrafted, serving the Church's ceremonies. But now the organ is completely damaged due to termites eating away the wooden part of the hand-operated keyboard.

The original bell tower of the church was only 36.6m high and had no roof. After the bell tower was renovated and a peak roof was added (in 1895); it was 57.6m high - the tallest church bell tower in Vietnam. The two bell towers contain 6 large bells (6 tones): the right tower contains 4 bells, which are the tones sol, si, re, mi; the left tower contains 2 bells, which are the tones la, do. This set of bells was made in France and has very sophisticated motifs. Only on Christmas Eve, all 6 bells ring together, the sound of the bells can be heard up to 10km away...
On the front of the building, between the two bell towers, under the roof peak, there is a clock. Looking at the facade of the building, the face of this clock looks like a window, but inside it is a rather massive machine, weighing more than 1 ton. This clock was made in Switzerland in 1887, and although old and primitive, it still works quite accurately.

The statue of Our Lady of Peace is placed in the center of the flower garden in front of the Church, made by sculptor G. Ciocchetti in 1959 in Italy. The statue of Our Lady stands upright, holding a globe in her hand, on the globe is a cross, Her eyes are looking up at the sky as if praying...
Notre Dame Cathedral is worthy of being an architectural masterpiece, a typical work that contributes to the appearance of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City. The work also records the introduction, exchange and assimilation of Eastern - Western culture and architecture. There, the architect has succeeded in a genre of work belonging to Western culture but built in the East; with new structures and materials, but suitable to the social conditions and climate of the locality. Not only tourists from afar, but also the people of Saigon who pass by every day still admire the magnificent yet simple beauty, majestic yet close. After many years and changes, the work still exists in the heart of Saigon, as an urban landmark.

Photo caption

- Nha_tho_DucBa (01)à (07): Image of the exterior of the building with bare brick walls