Camly Church

Of nearly 100 French Catholic buildings built in Dalat from the 1920s to 1960s, Cam Ly Church, also known as Son Cuoc Church, is located at 01 Nguyen Khuyen Street, Ward 5. Da Lat, the church is dedicated to ethnic minorities, so it has a nuance different from other churches. A unique architectural style from the roof of the Tay Nguyen compatriots harmonious combination with the architecture of southern France and expressed in the spirit of rustic architecture.

The formation of Cam Ly church

Cam Ly Church was built in 1959 and completed in 1967, from the idea of the French priest Boutary about a common house familiar with the local religion. The artists who made Cam Ly Church have shown the cultural integration through the art of architecture when expressing the worship of catholic merged into the Yang religion. Covering the church is a 17m high roof which is made up of 80,000 square leaf tiles weighing 90 tons. As far as the giant hammer is lying across the sky, it evokes the image of working tools, rudimentary weapons attached to the daily life of the ethnic peoples of the Central Highlands. The structure is reinforced concrete frame column reinforced concrete ceiling, brick wall construction style 40cm thick, 2m high, the top is a row of colored glass. The 3m high pillar with the size of 20 x 50cm is closely linked to the roof structure of the wooden truss system, which is 12 meters high and impressive. In order to roof such steep slopes, it was perforated into the ledge of 80,000 flat tiles to wire the zinc wire and tied the tile to the lito.

Overview of Cam Ly church in Da Lat

From the front, the roof of the church reminds of an arrow soaring on the sky. At the main door of the church are two tigers and phoenixes statues symbolizing power and wisdom. The creators are also implicitly referring to Upper-Tribal dwellers who are as wild as the lions but have become as serene as phoenixes by religious followers. Step through the door, soak in the sanctuary space to admire the beauty of the church. The rectangular church site is 324 square meters in area, one-third of which is dedicated to the sanctuary, and the other two are for prayer. The walls of the chapel are designed with two-meter-high mezzanine walls, with glass, blue, brown and yellow glass. Space is illuminated by illusory light from square-shaped glass panels, triangles representing the moon and the sun. The interiors are interlocked with unique ethnic motifs. The altar has a 4m long altar, 1m wide made of pine wood. Under the cross, there are 3 buffalos horns on the stone wall (the spiritual sacrifice of the people), the upper gable is the vent hole also carries the national pattern.

Surprisingly, besides the sanctuary, old monuments always exist in parallel with a very normal life as well. So Dao (church leader) said: From before the construction of the church, this place has raised many generations of children of ethnic minorities around the region. After the unification of the country, parishioners around the church settled in the villages of Ta Nung - Da Lat, K'wèn, K'Long, Đarahoa (Hiep An - Duc Trong commune). According to the tradition of raising children, from 1990 up to now, the ethnic minority villages in Dam Rong and Di Linh have brought poor children to rear them from grade 1 to university. There are nearly 50 children of all ages from 6 to 18 years old of poor families, many children are taught by all sisters with all responsibilities. Warm as a family, big children help the sisters care the baby. There are many college graduates, finding career in Ho Chi Minh City, some came back to their villages as teachers, doctors, : the children have the ability to study higher to be a useful citizen, and children who can not learn high, they also have chance to learn enough, will also change their lifestyle, hygiene, lifestyle in their own families and those around them, so that the lives of the people change.

Over half a century passed, Cam Ly Church retained its original beauty as the new building. At this point, you not only admire the beauty of the church but also the beauty of the heart of the sisters, the aunt has been caring for raising children generations of poor people also warm your heart when you visit