About Our Lady of La Vang · Hallandale Beach, Florida
Our Lady of La Vang (Giáo Xứ Đức Mẹ La Vang) is a Vietnamese personal parish in Hallandale Beach, Florida, in the Archdiocese of Miami. Originally established as a mission in 2014 on the former campus of St. Charles Borromeo Church, it was elevated to full parish status by Archbishop Thomas Wenski on July 2, 2023, with Father Joseph Long K. Nguyen installed as its first pastor. The parish serves Vietnamese-descent Catholics across South Florida — a community that began gathering for Mass as early as 1983 — and today celebrates three Sunday Masses in Vietnamese and English, runs religious education and Vietnamese language classes for roughly 250 children, and hosts the cultural and spiritual life of about 400 registered families.
- Established
- 2014
- Patron
- Our Lady of La Vang (Đức Mẹ La Vang) — the Vietnamese Marian apparition of 1798, when Catholics hiding from persecution in the La Vang rainforest reported seeing the Virgin Mary and Child Jesus after reciting the rosary at the foot of a tree; Mary is said to have told them to boil tree leaves to cure their illness.
- Rector
- Rev. Joseph Long K. Nguyen (Father Giuse Nguyễn Kim Long) — first pastor, installed July 2, 2023; had served as administrator since the mission's founding in 2014.
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Miami
Why belong here
Our Lady of La Vang is the spiritual home of Vietnamese Catholics across South Florida — the only Vietnamese personal parish in the Archdiocese of Miami — where Mass, prayer, religious education, and cultural celebration all happen in the mother tongue. About 250 children gather each Sunday for the bilingual 9:30 a.m. Mass followed by religious education, Vietnamese language classes, and outdoor activities, while 400 registered families make it a true community center for feast-day celebrations, choir music (the Theresa Choir), and home-cooked Vietnamese gatherings on the four-acre former St. Charles Borromeo campus.
Mass times at Our Lady of La Vang
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM (First Sunday of the month)
- Friday: 7:00 AM – 7:30 PM (First Friday of the month)
Adoration times
- Eucharistic Adoration offered — see parish schedule
Our Story — From 1983 Refugee Community to Personal Parish
The Vietnamese Catholic community that became Our Lady of La Vang was first gathered in May 1983 by the late Bishop San Pedro, a former professor at the Pontifical Seminary in Dalat who was then teaching at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach. About 25 families spread from Boca Raton to Homestead met in a private home for Sunday Mass. The community later moved to Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Opa-Locka under Father Peter Tran Cong Vang, SVD, and after 1990 came under the long pastoral care of Father Isidore Nguyen Ba Ky, who for more than 20 years guided the community — eventually to St. Helen Parish in Fort Lauderdale, where Monsignor Williams Dever welcomed them.
- Founded 1983 by Bishop San Pedro with ~25 families
- Hosted at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Opa-Locka under Fr. Peter Tran Cong Vang, SVD
- Father Isidore Nguyen Ba Ky led community for 20+ years from 1990
- Welcomed into St. Helen Parish, Fort Lauderdale under Msgr. Williams Dever
Founding of the Mission (2014)
On November 15, 2011, Archbishop Thomas Wenski appointed Father Joseph Nguyen Kim Long to succeed the retiring Father Ky. On November 3, 2013, Father Long and community representatives met with the archbishop to begin the formal search for a permanent church home. By decree dated July 15, 2014, Archbishop Wenski formally erected Our Lady of La Vang Vietnamese Mission at 123 NW 6th Avenue, Hallandale Beach, on the former St. Charles Borromeo campus, and named Father Long administrator with the powers of a pastor. Volunteers worked more than two weeks to refurbish the facility before the first Mass on Sunday, August 31, 2014. Religious education opened September 7, 2014 with three Sunday Masses (9:30 AM Children's, 11:30 AM Community, 7:00 PM Youth), and the church was solemnly consecrated with a Mass and ribbon-cutting on December 14, 2014.
- Decree dated July 15, 2014 erected the mission
- $2 million mortgage for ~4-acre former St. Charles Borromeo campus
- Community had saved $400,000 in advance
- First Mass Sunday, August 31, 2014; religious education opened September 7, 2014
- Dedication Mass and ribbon-cutting December 14, 2014 with Archbishop Wenski
Elevation to Parish (July 2, 2023)
On July 2, 2023, Archbishop Thomas Wenski celebrated the Mass that formally elevated Our Lady of La Vang from mission to parish — a 'personal parish' entrusted to the pastoral care of Catholics of Vietnamese descent across the Archdiocese of Miami rather than to a geographic territory — and installed Father Joseph Long K. Nguyen as its first pastor. "A mission often implies something provisional, or a community that is dependent on help from others in order to survive," the archbishop said. "Parish implies permanency."
- Elevated by Archbishop Thomas Wenski on July 2, 2023
- Designated a 'personal parish' for Vietnamese-descent Catholics
- Father Joseph Long K. Nguyen installed as first pastor
Parish Staff & Clergy
Father Joseph Long K. Nguyen (Father Giuse Nguyễn Kim Long) is the current pastor. He arrived in November 2011 from California to succeed Father Isidore Ky, served as administrator of the mission from its 2014 founding, and was installed as first pastor at the July 2, 2023 elevation Mass. The parish's pastoral leadership today carries on more than four decades of continuity from Bishop San Pedro's 1983 gatherings.
- Rev. Joseph Long K. Nguyen — Pastor
- Kim Tran — Assistant Choir Director
Faith Formation, Youth & Language Classes
Around 250 children gather on Sundays for the bilingual 9:30 AM Mass followed by religious education (Giáo Lý), Vietnamese language classes, and outdoor activities — making faith formation and language transmission a central part of parish life. The 7:00 PM Sunday Mass is celebrated as the Lễ Giới trẻ (Youth Mass).
- ~250 children in Sunday religious education
- Vietnamese language classes for children
- Youth Mass (Lễ Giới trẻ) at 7:00 PM Sunday
Music & Liturgical Culture
Vietnamese culture is on display throughout the liturgy. The parish's Theresa Choir sings in Vietnamese at Masses and special celebrations, including the December 14, 2014 dedication Mass and the July 2, 2023 elevation to parish.
- Theresa Choir (sings in Vietnamese)
- Kim Tran — Assistant Choir Director
Community Life & Cultural Celebrations
Beyond liturgy, Our Lady of La Vang is a center where the community gathers for special events such as Christmas and New Year celebrations, with Vietnamese food and hospitality. Father Nguyen has described the parish as 'our second home where we can worship God with our own language, culture and customs.' A small on-site food court serves home-cooked Vietnamese dishes — banh mi sandwiches and rotating soups including pho and bun bo hue — and the campus is wheelchair-accessible.
- Christmas and New Year celebrations
- Vietnamese food and hospitality at parish events
- Home-cooked Vietnamese food court (banh mi, pho, bun bo hue)
- Wheelchair-accessible campus
The Patroness — Our Lady of La Vang
The parish is named for the 1798 Marian apparition in the La Vang rainforest of central Vietnam. During a persecution of Catholics by the Vietnamese emperor, the faithful sought refuge in the forest and fell ill. Each night they recited the rosary at the foot of a tree; one night they reported an apparition of the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus, who told them to boil the leaves of the trees to cure their sickness. La Vang has been a major Vietnamese pilgrimage site ever since, and an image of Our Lady of La Vang is carried in procession at the parish's most solemn celebrations.
- Apparition at La Vang, Vietnam, 1798
- Refugees from imperial persecution saw Virgin Mary and Child Jesus
- Told to boil tree leaves to cure illness
Visiting Our Lady of La Vang
The parish sits on a roughly four-acre campus less than two miles from the Atlantic beach in Hallandale Beach, with the church, rectory, parish hall, and ample parking on the former St. Charles Borromeo grounds. The Archdiocese of Miami directory lists the parish at 123 NW 6th Avenue, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009, phone 954-374-9100.
- Address: 123 NW 6th Avenue, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009
- Phone: 954-374-9100
- Less than 2 miles from the Atlantic beach
- Includes church, rectory, parish hall, and parking
- Archdiocese of Miami — personal parish for Vietnamese-descent Catholics
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Bishop (later Archbishop-emeritus?) San Pedrofrom May 1983
Founded the Vietnamese Catholic community in the Archdiocese of Miami while teaching at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach; gathered families from Boca Raton to Homestead for Sunday Mass in a private home.
- Father Peter Tran Cong Vang, SVD (Cha Phêrô Trần Công Vang)after 1983 – 1990
Guided the community at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Opa-Locka; left in 1990 to minister to refugees in Hong Kong.
- Father Isidore Nguyen Ba Ky (Cha Isidore Nguyễn Bá Kỳ)1990 – November 15, 2011
Arrived from the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee; led the community for over 20 years and later welcomed it into St. Helen Parish in Fort Lauderdale under Monsignor Williams Dever; retired in 2011.
- Rev. Joseph Long K. Nguyen (Father Giuse Nguyễn Kim Long)November 15, 2011 – present
Appointed by Archbishop Wenski to succeed Father Ky; served as administrator of the mission from 2014 and was installed as first pastor when the mission was elevated to parish status on July 2, 2023.