Feature

“WITH MARY, WE JOURNEY”

MARIAN DAYS 2023

By BRADLEY ZINT 7/20/2023

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF ORANGE HOSTED ITS SECOND ANNUAL MARIAN DAYS CELEBRATION ON JULY 14 AND 15, AT THE CHRIST CATHEDRAL CAMPUS. PHOTO BY KAYLEE TOOLE/DIOCESE OF ORANGE

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange hosts its annual Marian Days celebration at Christ Cathedral’s Our Lady of La Vang Shrine on July 15, 2023. (Joshua Sudock | Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange)

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF ORANGE HOSTED ITS SECOND ANNUAL MARIAN DAYS CELEBRATION ON JULY 14 AND 15 AT THE CHRIST CATHEDRAL CAMPUS. PHOTO BY KAYLEE TOOLE/DIOCESE OF ORANGE

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange hosted its second annual Marian Days celebration on July 14 and 15 at the Christ Cathedral campus.

PHOTO BY IAN TRAN/DIOCESE OF ORANGE

The theme for Marian Days 2023 was “With Mary, We Journey,” which reflects the central role of the Virgin Mary in the Catholic faith.

PHOTO BY IAN TRAN/DIOCESE OF ORANGE

Over two days, the 34-acre cathedral campus attracted an estimated 25,000 people — 10,000 more than last year — from around the region and the country for a festival-like environment of outdoor Masses, a procession onto the streets, workshops, dancing, live music and entertainment.

PHOTO BY SCOTT SMELTZER/DIOCESE OF ORANGE

The celebration has quickly become the largest of its kind on the West Coast. It is centered around the cathedral’s Our Lady of La Vang Shrine, whose centerpiece is a 16-foot-tall Virgin Mary statue depicting how the Blessed Mother is believed to have appeared before a group of persecuted Vietnamese Catholics in 1798 in a rainforest of Vietnam.

PHOTO BY JOSHUA SUDOCK/DIOCESE OF ORANGE

PHOTO BY COLIN HORAN/DIOCESE OF ORANGE

Bishop Kevin Vann invited the whole People of God to “walk together to discern the Lord’s will for his Church, and we are called to journey together with Mary in this process. We go forth with her to live and share the Good News with others.”