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(Duc Ba) Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh city among world’s most beautiful

The international Business Insider site in the US has picked the Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh city, built in the French colonial times, among world’s 19 most beautiful cathedrals.

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22 August, 2020

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duc ba notre dame cathedral in ho chi minh city among worlds most beautiful

The Notre-Dame Cathedral in Hochiminh City.

The majestic cathedral in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s southern metropolis, well-known as the another name, Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral, “was modeled on the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, and materials for its construction were shipped from France,” the U.S. news site noted.

Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral is grouped with several churches of many countries around the world including Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City (USA); Cathedral of Duomo de Milano (Italy); Rio de Janeiro – Catedral Metropolitana (Brazil); Notre Dame Cathedral in Ottawa (Canada); Saint Basil’s Cathedral (Russia) … as the most beautiful cathedrals in the world, according to an article on the businessinsider.

Construction of the cathedral was completed in 1880 under the supervision of famous architect Bourard. It originally provided religious services for French colonists in the 19th and 20th centuries. The cathedral has two bell towers that are 58 meters high.

The Notre Dame Cathedral held a design competition in August 1876 and the architect J.Bourard was cotracted to design the project.

Located in a tourist precinct that includes the historic Central Post Office in District 1, the 140-year-old cathedral is popular among foreign and local visitors, especially during holiday seasons.

However, it has closed its door to tourists for a long time to carry out extensive renovation work.

Financed by the Ho Chi Minh City Archdiocese, the restoration project, which would cost an estimated VND140 billion ($6 million), is scheduled to be completed in 2023.

European cathedrals including France’s Reims Cathedral, Italy’s Milan Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Dormition in Russia, the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba in Spain and the St. Paul’s Cathedral in the U.K. dominated the list

On October 7, 1877, Reverend Father Isidore (Vietnamese name:Mr My – The Bishop of Western Diocese’s Apostolic Vicariate that time) carried out the miracle and laid the first stone to build the large cathedral. It was constructed quite quickly, about 2.5 years taken to finish. In the early period, it was called the Governmental Church, because all construction expenses were provided by the France with the amount of 2,500,000 of French francs.

On the afternoon of February 16, 1959, Cardinal Agagianian made a statue of Notre Dame in the square in front of the church, so from this event, the church has been called Notre Dame Cathedral and the square in front of it has been called Notre Dame Square of Peace.

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, the largest in the world at 121,000 square feet, is also on the list.

“Though the only requirement for a church to become a cathedral is the presence of seat for a resident bishop, many cathedrals have far grander architecture than traditional churches,” the Business Insider said.