Visiting Lang Song Minor Seminary

Việt Nam•18/12/2023

The impressive architecture of Lang Song Minor Seminary.

The church is quiet and peaceful.

The Lang Song Minor Seminary is located in Quang Van village, Phuoc Thuan commune, Tuy Phuoc district, about 10km northeast of Quy Nhon city center, Binh Dinh province. The complex covers approximately 2,000 square meters and comprises several architectural structures situated on a high mound amidst vast rice paddies, near the Phu Hoa estuary leading to Thi Nai lagoon.

Tracing back through history, under the Vijaya (Champa) dynasty from approximately the 11th to 15th centuries, the Thilibinai area (present-day Thi Nai Lagoon) was a major trading port connecting with the outside world . Portuguese missionaries arrived in this region in the 17th century, then known as Dang Trong (Southern Vietnam), under the control of the Nguyen lords. Historical records indicate that in 1618, the Italian Jesuit missionary Cristoforo Borri was granted permission by the governor of Quy Nhon to build a church for missionary work. Later, due to sedimentation, transportation and trade at the Nuoc Man - Thi Nai port became inconvenient, so the missionary base moved to Lang Song.

Starting from the waterway trade route at Thi Nai Lagoon, merchant ships sailed upstream on the Con River to the upper reaches of the Tay Son mountain range, continuing to transport goods to the Central Highlands. Portuguese missionaries also followed this route to spread Christianity, and the Lang Song Minor Seminary is a historical testament to this process. The minor seminary was where monks were trained. After completing their studies there, the monks continued their education at the major seminary to become priests.

The Lang Song Minor Seminary was built around 1841-1850, initially as a thatched-roof building with bamboo walls. The structure has undergone several upgrades and changes. The current architecture is believed to have been built in 1927. Documents also indicate that Lang Song not only housed a minor seminary but also a complex of parishes belonging to the Eastern Dang Trong Diocese.

The main structure of the minor seminary consists of a central chapel, flanked by two rows of multi-story buildings – the workspaces and study areas for the priests. In front is a lawn and rows of century-old trees lining the entrance, while the back courtyard is divided into square plots for growing flowers and vegetables. The overall structure features Gothic architecture and characteristics of French architecture, with yellow lime walls, tiled roofs, and surrounding corridors with rows of columns and arched doorways. The architectural details are incredibly meticulous and refined. At first glance, the facade of the Lang Song Chapel closely resembles the ancient St. Paul's Cathedral in Macao, built by the Portuguese. Although not as grand and imposing as St. Paul's Cathedral, the Lang Song Chapel has retained almost entirely its original architectural features.

Milestones in the journey of the Vietnamese national script.

The Vietnamese Quốc ngữ script was created by Jesuit missionaries during the Catholic missionary work in Vietnam in the early 17th century. Francisco de Pina was the first missionary fluent in Vietnamese. He developed a method for transcribing Vietnamese sounds using the Latin alphabet. Later, Father Alexandre de Rhodes (Father Alexandre de Rhodes) was instrumental in systematizing, institutionalizing, and perfecting the Vietnamese Quốc ngữ script based on the Latin alphabet.

The Lang Song Minor Seminary holds special historical significance, closely linked to the birth, dissemination, and development of the Vietnamese national script. Within the Lang Song complex, the Lang Song printing house was built in 1872, but was later destroyed during the war in 1885. In 1904, Bishop Damien Grangeon Man rebuilt the Lang Song printing house and entrusted its management to Father Paul Maheu. This was one of the three first printing facilities in Vietnam using the Vietnamese national script, along with the Tan Dinh printing house (Saigon) and the Ninh Phu printing house ( Hanoi ).

From the Lang Song printing house, tens of thousands of publications and works in the Vietnamese Quốc ngữ script were printed, distributed, and disseminated within academic and social circles. In 1922 alone, under the direction of Father Maheu, the Lang Song printing house printed 18,000 periodicals, 1,000 copies of various books, and 32,000 other publications; the bi-monthly newspaper Lời Thăm alone had 1,500 copies printed and distributed throughout Indochina. In the early 20th century, the printing house flourished. Many prominent writers in the South, such as Truong Vinh Ky and Le Van Duc, also sent their manuscripts to this central Vietnamese printing house. The Lang Song printing house operated until 1936 when it was moved to Quy Nhon.

Currently, a building has been constructed in the former printing house area to display publications and images about the activities of the Lang Song printing house. The building's architecture is similar to the overall space of the minor seminary. The Lang Song printing house exhibition room currently houses hundreds of documents and books, some in their original form, some reprinted, and some with their covers still intact. The publications are displayed in order of publication year. Old books are carefully preserved in glass cabinets. Among the more than 200 books currently on display, many are valuable for their historical significance in the early days of the Vietnamese Quốc ngữ script and have educational value, such as "Reading Practice," "Spelling Practice ABCs," and "Annamite Proverbs"...

Currently, the Quy Nhon Diocese manages two facilities related to the Vietnamese Quốc ngữ script: Nước Mặn and Làng Sông, both located in Tuy Phước district. The arrival of Jesuit missionaries and the establishment of a facility in Nước Mặn (Phước Quang commune, Tuy Phước district today) is considered the embryonic stage in the formation of the Quốc ngữ script in the early 17th century. More than 200 years later, the Làng Sông printing house was established. Through the ups and downs of history, the Làng Sông Minor Seminary still stands today as a historical landmark.

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