So Kien Basilica– Ha Nam’s oldest church

So Kien basilica is located in Kien Khe town, Thanh Liem district, Ha Nam province, about 70km south of Hanoi Archbishop (Photo: VNA)

It is the pilgrimage center of Hanoi archdiocese, which served as the archdiocese's cathedral from 1882 to 1936 (Photo: VNA)

The So Kien Basilica complex has typical Gothic style, including the main church, the Bishop's house and the seminary (Photo: VNA)

Like most church structures in the West, the church also features stained-glass windows depicting saints or biblical events (Photo: VNA)

The church is 67m long, 31m wide, 23m high, built on a large lagoon. The church has five lobes, four rows of columns that can accommodate 4,000-5,000 people (Photo: VNA)

The bell tower of the church is 27m high and hangs four big bell with Do – Mi – Sol – Do tone, with weight of nearly 2.5 tonnes and named “Bong” (Photo: VNA)

Among 6,000 churches across the country, Vietnam has four minor basilicas (Photo: VNA)

The basilicas, which are honored by the Pope for their large and ancient architecture, have important spiritual and historical significance. (Photo: VNA)

The name of So Kien is comprised of two villages: the So village (or Ninh Phu) in the east specializing in farming and the village of Kien (or Kien Khe) specialized in trading and processing lime. (Photo: VNA)

In 2010, the Holy See with the Order of the Congregation of Divine Worship raised the So Kien Church into the fourth basilica in Vietnam, under the title of the Immaculate Conception (Photo: VNA)

From 1862-1924 years, So Kien was chosen the center of West Dang Ngoai diocese (Photo: VNA)

So Kien Basilica is honored to be the cradle of two martyrs, Priest Truong Van Thi and the catechist Peter Truong Van Duong)and a place to store many holy relics (Photo: VNA)

The area inside the church is always full of parishioners every weekend (Photo: VNA)

Tourists are immersed in the unique European-like architecture (Photo: VNA)