Marian Days festivities begin today

A maze of tents is up and inhabited by thousands of Vietnamese who have made the annual pilgrimage to Carthage for the 31st Annual Marian Days.

The thousands and thousands of participants began to came into Carthage as early as this past weekend for the yearly festivities. It is estimated that up to 60,000 people will be in Carthage for the annual Vietnamese Catholic festival.

This morning, people were either just waking up or moving into the hundreds of tents that have been set up.

Festivities officially start at 7 p.m. today with the opening ceremony, which is the Pontifical Mass in Honor of the Blessed Sacrament with the Most Reverend James Johnston as the celebrant.

At 7:30 a.m., there will be the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Masses, adorations and conferences for different groups. The celebrant and homilist will be the Most Reverend John J. Leibrecht, Bishop Emeritus at Springfield-Cape Girardeau.

At 7 p.m., there will be a Solemn Mass in honor of the 117 Vietnamese martyred saints. The celebrant and homilist will be the Most Reverend Gerald R. Barnes, Bishop at San Barnadino, Calif.

At 9 p.m. there will be open-air entertainment performances.

At 5 p.m. Saturday, there will be a Solemn Procession of the International Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima. The celebrant will be Cardinal John Pham Minh Man, archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. At 8 p.m., there will be a Pontifical Mass in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Celebrant and Homilist will be Cardinal John Pham Minh Man. Open air entertainment will be at 10 p.m.

At 7 a.m. Sunday, the closing ceremony will take place with the Mass of the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time at the main complex. Celebrant will be the Very Reverend Michael M. Tran Mai, CMC, Provincial of the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix.

Marian Days, which was started in 1977 by Vietnamese Catholics who settled in C Carthage after the 1975 fall of Saigon, has grown over the years. Over the course of four days, thousands from Vietnamese Catholic communities throughout the United States, as well as other countries, will gather in Carthage for days of prayer, conferences, talks and devotion.