Tell us about your parish and its patroness.
Our Lady of La Vang Mission is a Vietnamese Catholic community named after the apparition of Mary to a group of Catholics at La Vang, Vietnam, who were hiding in the jungles to avoid religious persecution in the late 19th century.
The mission’s first presence was in 2006 as a community with about 50 families living around Reston, Sterling, Chantilly and Ashburn.
With the permission of Bishop Paul S. Loverde, the community began gathering at St. Thomas à Becket Church in Reston during weekends to celebrate Mass and to have CCD classes for children.
In 2011, when St. Thomas à Becket renovated the church, our community moved to St. Veronica Church in Chantilly and has been there since.
On Sept. 3, 2017, at a Mass with Bishop Michael F. Burbidge and in the presence of Dominican Father Liem Tran, pastor of Holy Martyrs of Vietnam Parish, the bishop established the community as a mission within the personal parish of Holy Martyrs of Vietnam Church in the Arlington diocese.
How do you support parishioners’ faith formation and development? We have three weekend Masses, CCD, Vietnamese language classes and youth activities.
Most recently, we hosted Advent retreat sessions Dec. 2-4, with reflections offered each evening by Dominican Father Guise Hoang Huy Cuong. We will celebrate the feast of the Holy Family Dec. 29 with a special Mass honoring couples celebrating 20 years or more of marriage.
Our website and weekly bulletin are published in Vietnamese. Each week, the bulletin lists the names and contact information for the leaders of our many parish ministries, including the Knights of Columbus; Catholic Mothers’ Association; Sacred Heart of Jesus Association; Daughters of Blessed Mother Mary Association; Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement and many others.
What is the Tet fair or lunar new year celebration? It holds a special place in our culture and is commemorated over two days in the middle of January each year with traditional Vietnamese music, dancing, attire and food, such as pho. The next Tet fair is Jan. 18-19, 2025, at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly. Thousands of people are expected to attend. We will raffle off a 2025 Toyota RAV 4 Hybrid and large cash prizes.
The event also serves as a fundraiser. We do not yet have our own church. The diocese has given us a 33-acre piece of land located at Pleasant Valley Road and Herndon Avenue in Chantilly for our future church. Recently, with the help of the diocese, we purchased a home right next to the land to serve as an office to meet with parishioners and a meeting place for departments and organizations. A house blessing and potluck picnic were held last month.
How is the fundraising going for construction of the new church? Our community has been growing and currently has more than 550 registered families. According to our most recent annual financial report, the community’s contributions during Masses increased 12 percent compared to the previous year, as several families supported the parish with large contributions. We do have a plan for our building project and are currently working on the site development. Our fundraising activities are ongoing, and we are working on a capital campaign pledges plan, which will be announced soon. We welcome contributions at membership.faithdirect.net/VA858.
Quick facts
Our Lady of La Vang Mission
703-894-7975
Website: ourladyoflavangva.org
Parish Priest (or pastor): Dominican Fr. Joseph Dang Quoc An
Father in Charge of Our Lady of La Vang Mission: Dominican Fr. Vincent Dinh Ngoc Thao
Curates (or parochial vicars): Dominican Frs. Peter Trinh Minh Phu and Peter Nguyen Dinh Phuong
Mass schedule (Masses are in Vietnamese at St. Veronica Church, 3460 Centreville Rd., Chantilly): Sat. (vigil): 7 p.m.; Sun.: 2 p.m., 7 p.m.; and Fri.: 7 p.m.
Confession: Sat. and Sun. 30 minutes before Mass, and by appointment.
Year established: 2017
Total parishioners: 1,502
