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Cho Quan church is one of many beautiful and old Catholic churches in Saigon. It has a typical European style in Saigon, which should be visited.
1. Location
It is about 10 km to the south of Tan Son Nhat airport and about 3 km from District 1. We can go to Cho Quan church by bus or by taxi. Its address is 120 Tran Binh Trong Street, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Distance from Duc Ba Cathedral to Cho Quan church is about 4, 2 km, 17 minutes by car.
2. Construction history
Cho Quan church has existed for over 100 years and is one of the oldest and largest churches in Ho Chi Minh City. This church is locted at the busy junction of Cho Lon Market in Saigon.
Cho Quan parish is an ancient parish because history of parish is associated with the process of expanding the territory to the south of the country and is nearly three centuries old.
Read more: Visit Duc Ba cathedral in Archdiocese Saigon
The present-day Cho Quan church was built by priest Nicolas Ham, who was buried under the church, by the altar of Our Lady for more than a century. The church was built on the site of two former churches destroyed in the wars. The church was built in the original version that was built in 1720.
The today Cho Quan church was inaugurated in 1896. The present church has been renovated several times but still retains its own charm.
Cho Quan church is the only church in the city that allows guests to enter their tower, which has great views of the surrounding area. Over 100 years of construction, Cho Quan is still considered one of the largest and most beautiful churches in Cho Lon.
3. Architecture of Cho Quan church
The architecture of Cho Quan Church is typical of the Western Gothic style, over 100 years but still majestic, the largest in Cho Lon market area. The doors are curved arched structure, large stone columns with unique patterns; red tile roof is tinted mossy antique. When walking through the main door of the church, it will be magnificent. In the middle is the altar and the statue of Jesus on the Cross, on the left is the altar of Mary, on the right is the altar of St. Joseph, in addition, there are the statue of the Saints on two sides in the church.
The windows are not colored glass like other churches, in the interior there are 4 large rows of seats and 2 small. There is a small entrance to the bell tower.
The bell tower consists of three floors: the pulling bell floor, the bell tower, and the top floor. The tower has 5 bells: 2 bells for everyday, 2 bells for the big feast, and 1 bell for death. On special days, 5 bells are pulled at the same time. Standing on the top floor, you can see the whole of District 5. But the special thing about the bell tower is that the bells were cast from France and transported here by sea. To transport these bells to the tower, people do not use human or machine power, but uses the power of five elephants. So far the bell tower has been repaired three times.
Cho Quan church has overcome the challenges to survive and grow up. A parish is worthy of the community of the Southern faithful in the process of witnessing the Gospel in the history. Today, Cho Quan Parish is still having strong innovations in a changing Church and Country.