Places of Worship in HCMC

Here are some information about the places of worship in HCMC.

While the dominant religion is Buddhism, Christians, Catholics, Hinduism and Islam exist in the whole of Vietnam. Many places of worship have been around for many years, some over a hundred years. The Vietnamese just like other nations, take their faith seriously. So if a visitor or a tourist is not permitted in a place of worship, it must be for a good reason — 1. praying time is over 2. the visitor is not dressed to be respectful of the faith 3. the visitor only intends to take photos 3. the visitor is eating.

The Jade Emperor Pagoda, a Taoist Pagoda, at 73 Mai Thi Luu Street, District 1, HCMC. Incense sticks are free. Wearing shorts or sleeveless shirts are not allowed. Offering is optional.

 

Vĩnh Nghiêm Pagoda  339, Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa St. , Ward 7, District 3 Ho Chi Minh City.

Incense sticks are free. Wearing shorts or sleeveless shirts are not allowed. Offering is optional. Everyone removes the shoes or slippers when entering the prayer area.

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Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon, officially it is the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception, Located at 1 Công xã Paris, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh

An English mass is regularly celebrated every Sunday at 9:30am. Taking photos during the mass celebration is prohibited.

Adjacent to the Notre Dame Cathedral is a Catholic Bookstore.

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The HCM Pastoral Center at 6B Ton Duc Thang St., District 1, Ho Chi Minh City (beside Audi Vietnam) An English mass is regularly celebrated as a Sunday anticipated mass every Saturday evening, 6:00pm at the multi-purpose theater.

 

The Thủ Thiêm Parish Church and the Lovers of the Holy Cross Convent at 58 Đường Ven Sông Sài Gòn, Thủ Thiêm, Quận 2, Hồ Chí Minh City

 

Over 100 years old, Huyen Sy Church is the oldest and second largest Catholic church in Saigon. The address is 01 Tôn Thất Tùng, Phạm Ngũ Lão, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh City. It is at the intersection of Nguyen Trai and Tôn Thất Tùng streets.

Across Huyen Sy Church is a Catholic religious store.

**All the pictures were taken by Maria Pineda, owner and writer of the blog.

Catholic English Mass in Saigon

There is an increasing number of Catholics in Vietnam. For English speaking Catholic expats, it will be a lot comfortable to participate in an English mass. In HCMC, there are several churches. The two places near Le Thanh Ton are just a few blocks away.

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This is the Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception and is commonly known as the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica.

Address: Công xã Paris Bến Nghé, tp. Hồ Chí Minh, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

The English mass is every Sunday at 9:30am. Ideally, if you are joining the mass, arrive at 9:00am. The choir usually practices the singing of the Psalms and the Alleluia with the churchgoers before starting the Holy Mass. Oftentimes, there will be two, three or even five priests co-celebrating the mass. At this hour, the church really gets filled up by tourists and regular parishioners.

This is the Archdiocese of Saigon Pastoral Center Address: 6Bis Ton Duc Thang St. Ben Nghe, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City

The English mass here is every Saturday, 6:00pm, an anticipated mass. The celebration is held at the 2nd floor auditorium.

Christmas novena mass for 2015 will be held in the chapel of the Pastoral Center starting 16th of December until 24th December at 6:00am.

The Pastoral Center has a car and motorbike parking available in the compound.

If it is difficult for you to find the exact address in google maps, use the Audi Vietnam as the landmark. The whole block has no. 6 as the address. The Pastoral Center stands next to Audi Vietnam.

Schedule of English Christmas Novena Masses 2015

December 16-24, 2015, 6.00am. Museum Chapel

December 19, 2015, 6.00pm. Archdiocese Pastoral Center Auditorium

Christmas, Solemnity of the Lord’s Birth

New Update: Dec. 19, anticipated mass will be held at the Saint Paul’s Chapel, same area, Ton Duc Thang St.

December 24, 2015, 8.00pm. Archdiocese Pastoral Center Auditorium

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God / New Year’s Eve Mass

December 31, 2015, 8.00pm. Archdiocese Pastoral Center Auditorium