An exhibition on Marian apparitions compiled by St. Carlo Acutis opened on October 3 at the Congregation of the Lovers of the Holy Cross in Thu Thiem, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The exhibition, titled The Apparitions of the Virgin Mary in the World, will remain open until October 12 on the congregation’s grounds in Thu Thiem, an area of the city across the Saigon River from the central districts. The event is organized by Friends of Carlo Acutis Saigon together with the Lovers of the Holy Cross of Thu Thiem, and marks the first anniversary of Acutis’s canonization.
The exhibition features 154 panels, all translated into Vietnamese, presenting accounts of Marian apparitions along with their historical and geographical contexts. These include Our Lady of La Vang, an important Marian devotion in the history of Vietnamese Catholicism. A replica of the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe, associated with the apparition of the Virgin Mary to St. Juan Diego in Mexico in 1531, is also on display. The replica was made with fabric similar to the original and was later brought into contact with the original tilma; it was presented to the exhibition by the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico.
The collection, known internationally as The Calls of Our Lady: Marian Apparitions and Shrines in the World, was begun by Acutis in 2006 and completed in 2014, several years after his death from leukemia at age 15. The panels combine images, historical accounts, and information about Marian shrines and apparitions. They reflect Acutis’s effort to use modern media to help people find and know the Catholic faith.
The opening program began with a talk by Father John Baptist Phuong Dinh Toai, MI, on Mary’s place in the life of the Church. Father Toai was encouraged by the young Catholics involved in organizing the exhibition, including members of Generation Z. The young organizers also invited their peers to visit the exhibition, pray the Rosary, and participate in Eucharistic adoration and evening prayer during the ten-day program. Sister Theresa Tri Thi Minh Thuy, superior general of the congregation, encouraged visitors to approach Mary with the trust of children coming to their mother; she said that Mary leads people to Jesus and invited the faithful to learn from her example of listening, humility, and trust in God.
The exhibition is accompanied by liturgical activities intended to lead visitors from knowledge of Marian devotion to prayer. The program will conclude on October 12 with a Mass marking the feast of St. Carlo Acutis at the parish church of Thu Thiem. Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Bui Cong Trac will preside, with music by the Youth Day Choir of the Archdiocese of Saigon. For its young organizers, the exhibition offers an opportunity to share Acutis’s legacy while inviting Catholics, especially young people, to deepen their prayer, rediscover their faith, and draw closer to Christ.
Context and Relevance
The exhibition coincides with October, the month Catholics traditionally observe as the Month of the Rosary. In this context, the initiative combines the witness of a widespread Marian devotion—such as that of Our Lady of La Vang—with the historical attribution of apparitions and the ecclesial recognition represented by Acutis’s canonization. The exhibition is not limited to information: the program includes the praying of the Rosary, Eucharistic adoration, and evening prayer, and culminates with a Mass presided over by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Bui Cong Trac. For the local community, especially the Generation Z young people who organized the activities, this is a concrete occasion to invite their peers to deepen their prayer and rediscover the faith, according to the organizers.
Original source: www.rvasia.org (published on October 6, 2026)
