Look at the white statue gazing towards the city from the garden. She is the Queen of Peace, and in 2005 she was at the centre of one of the strangest episodes in recent Saigon history.

1The empty pedestal

In 1903 the French placed here a bronze statue of Bishop Pigneau de Behaine leading Prince Cảnh, son of Emperor Gia Long, by the hand: a symbol of the alliance between France and the Nguyễn dynasty. In 1945 the statue was removed and the pedestal stood empty. In 1959 the parish ordered from Italy a Virgin in white Carrara marble, 4.6 metres tall and weighing about eight tonnes, which arrived by ship from Genoa. It was blessed in February that year. Beneath her feet a silver box was placed holding prayers for peace, written on thin sheets of gold, silver and other materials and sent from all over the country.

2The tears of 2005

On 29 October 2005 word spread that tears were running from the statue's eyes down her right cheek. Thousands of people came and the police had to close the roads to traffic. The parish priest explained on television that the statue stands in the open and that rain leaves marks. Cardinal Phạm Minh Mẫn wrote that there was no objective evidence that it had wept, without closing the matter.

The facts are the crowds and the closed streets; the tears remain a matter of faith.

3What to look for

  • The surface of the marble, left unpolished because it was meant to be seen from afar.
  • The plaque on the pedestal, with the date of 17 February 1959 in Roman numerals.
  • The serpent beneath the Virgin's feet.
Close-up of the marble statue of the Virgin, with the cathedral spires behind
The Queen of Peace, in Carrara marble, placed here in 1959.

Documented

The 1903 statue, its removal in 1945, the Virgin of 1959 and the crowds of October 2005 are documented in the press and by the archdiocese.

Oral tradition

That the statue shed tears has not been confirmed by the Church; it belongs to popular devotion.

Sources and credits

Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City, letter from Cardinal Phạm Minh Mẫn (4 November 2005); Tuổi Trẻ newspaper (October–November 2005); Vietnamese Wikipedia, “Tượng Đức Bà Hòa Bình”.

Photos:

  • The white statue of the Queen of Peace between the two towers of Saigon's cathedral: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • Close-up of the marble statue of the Virgin, with the cathedral spires behind: Ralostran, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Spotted a mistake? Drop us a line and we’ll look into it.