CARTHAGE, Mo. – Marian Days is a festival and a pilgrimage for Vietnamese American Roman Catholics celebrated since 1978 on a 28-acre campus of the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix in Carthage, Missouri. The event is organized by Vietnamese Catholic Americans. The event in Carthage runs through Sunday.
It is open to the public. There is no charge to attend. Many locals visit shops and restaurants during the week that are set up on the east side of the campus. Traditional Vietnamese food is served at five different restaurants. If you prefer more American food, the Carthage Knights of Columbus (Catholic men’s group) set up a restaurant each year as a tradition and fundraiser.
The favorites many enjoy are Boba Tea, aka Bubble Tea. Although it was created in the 1980s it has become a tradition. It has balls or ‘bubbles’ of chewy or soft tapioca pudding. The varieties are too numerous to mention here. It is easy to order and one of the many stands as you walk through the food/vendor area.
Also Pho is a traditional Vietnamese dish served at the restaurants. It is considered the National Dish.
| RELATED >> MARIAN DAYS 2022 BEGINS
“Phở or pho is a Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and meat. Pho is a popular food in Vietnam where it is served in households, street stalls and restaurants countrywide. Nam Định people were the first to create Vietnamese traditional Pho. Pho is considered Vietnam’s national dish.” — Feast Magazine
HISTORY OF MARIAN DAYS AND CRM
“On April 30, 1975, 185 clergy – about half of the Congregation – left Vietnam as boat people just before the Fall of Saigon. They arrived in the United States and were placed in refugee camps.”
They came to Carthage because of Cardinal Bernard Law, who is most remembered today for the cover up of the sexual abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston. Before Boston, however, he was bishop of the Diocese of Springfield–Cape Girardeau.
Cardinal Law invited them to rent a vacant seminary, Our Lady of the Ozarks College. Between June 30 and September 3, 1975, nine priests, 154 brothers arrived in Carthage.
The Marian Days began in 1978 as a gathering or ‘Family Reunion’ to keep Vietnamese Catholic Traditions alive. Mass is shared in Vietnamese. Officials are expecting 100,000 this year. Saturday of the 4-days festival is traditionally the most-attended day.
PARKING FOR MARIAN DAYS
If someone is registered for Marian Days there are specific locations they are instructed to park. For the general public you can park on the public streets. Just don’t block driveways or you could be towed.
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