Statue of Our Lady of Mang Den

The statue of Our Lady of Mang Den has other names: Our Lady of Sorrows, Our Lady of La Vang, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Salette. This is a relic, a Catholic pilgrimage site of Kontum diocese, located in Mang Den village, Dak Long commune, Kon Plong district, about 53km northeast of Kon Tum city center.

According to documents of the Kontum bishopric, this statue was carved after the statue of Our Lady of Fatima donated by priest Thomas Le Thanh Anh. This statue was brought to Kontum by helicopter, the statue is made of reinforced concrete about 1 meter high, the body of the statue has the appearance of Our Lady of Fatima, but the head has the same image as the Central Highlands woman and is not have hands.

In 1974, this was a time of fierce war and when Mang Den fort was conquered, the statue of Our Lady of Mang Den was also damaged and forgotten for many decades in the deep forest. More than 10 years later, due to the influence of the policy of Building New Economic Zones of the Vietnamese government, some people living in Mang Canh Forest Enterprise discovered that the statue was still intact, but there was no interest in it. any special mind. However, at the end of 1987, the statue lost its head and arms, but the cause is unknown.

Until 2002, when the national highway 24 was planned to be widened to be used as the main traffic route through Kon Plong district and connected to Mo Duc district, Quang Ngai province. However, when they saw the design accidentally passing through this statue, the road builders adjusted themselves to avoid harming the statue of Our Lady. Many people here have worked hard to restore the head and hands of the statue of the Mother of God. The first part is restored with a face that is no longer like the usual versions of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, but has the appearance of a woman in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. However, it is not clear why the hand part of the statue that was re-sculpted and attached to it fell off, many times, so people decided to leave the statue with the image of no hands.

After being known by many people and properly restored, this place began to become a pilgrimage site for people around this area. In 2011, the Apostolic Nuncio representing the non-resident Holy See in Vietnam, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, visited and presided over the Mass in honor of Our Lady. Kontum Department of Home Affairs also officially accepted the organization of pilgrimage and established Kon Xom Luh parish. Since then, this place has been repaired and become a place of religious activities of local people. And the statue of Our Lady of Mang Den has also become a frequent place to visit in the journey to discover Kon Tum of tourists from all over the world.

Ticket price: free.

Address: Mang Den village, Dak Long commune, Kon Plong district, Kon Tum province, Vietnam.