The Marian Days (Vietnamese: Đại hội Thánh Mẫu, officially Ngày Thánh Mẫu[3][a]) is the main festival and pilgrimage for Vietnamese American Roman Catholics and the largest Vietnamese Catholic event in the world. The annual event, inaugurated in 1978, takes place on the first weekend in August in honor of the Virgin Mary on the campus of the Congregation of the Mother of the Redeemer (CRM) in Carthage, Missouri. Tens of thousands of attendees come from throughout the United States, Canada, Vietnam, Thailand, and Europe. Attendees fill up Carthage's hotels, with many opting to camp in parks or yards.[1]
Some residents of Carthage have disapproved of the event, and gang activity in the 1990s and early 2000s has resulted in gun and knife violence. However, many residents look forward to the festival each year and visit the event to partake in Vietnamese cuisine. A local version of the event began in the Diocese of Orange, California, in 2022.
The Congregation organized the inaugural Marian Day in June 1978, in celebration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.[6][5] Around 1,500 Vietnamese Catholics participated in the one-day retreat at the former campus of Our Lady of the Ozarks College.[5][7] The event had origins in Vietnam, as a way of asking the Virgin Mary for peace in the Vietnam War.[8] The 1979 event welcomed Cardinal John Carberry, who imparted a special blessing from John Paul II to the event. The gathering was expanded to a weekend and especially dedicated in celebration of Vietnam's consecration to Mary in 1960.[9] In 1987, 35,000 Vietnamese people were estimated to have attended the festival, with it being seen as a "religious New Year for Vietnamese refugees".[8] Cardinal Nguyễn Văn Thuận attended the event in 1995.[10]
The Marian Days celebration was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic before returning in 2022.[3][11]
Marian Days are celebrated from the first Thursday in August to the following Sunday at the former Our Lady of the Ozarks College site.[14] Crowds in recent years have been estimated between 75,000 and 100,000; Carthage's own population is only around 12,500.[15][2][16] Participants come from the United States and other countries around the world, including Canada, Vietnam, Thailand, and Holland.[6][17][18]
The celebration incorporates daily Masses, confessions, Eucharistic adoration, vocational talks, and seminars.[19] In addition, food stalls, pop-up religious goods stores, confessional stations, and booths for various religious congregations are sprinkled throughout the campus.[20][21]
The annual procession in honor of Our Lady of Fatima follows Carthage streets.
Saturday evening celebrations begin with a procession honoring Our Lady of Fatima. Blue and white balloons are released in honor of Our Lady of Fatima, as well as red and yellow balloons in colors representing the flag of South Vietnam, a symbol of anticommunism.[17][22] The celebration culminates in a Pontifical High Mass in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Following the Mass, a music and entertainment program features acts by Asia Entertainment, Thúy Nga Productions, and others.[23][24] Fireworks close out the night.[19]
Accommodations
Each year, nearly every hotel or motel within a 50-mile (80km) radius of Carthage fills to capacity, with bookings as far as Northwest Arkansas. Many attendees book as much as a year in advance. Others prefer the more communal experience of camping in tents or campers on or near the festival grounds.[1][25][26] One local RV park is used once a year, only for Marian Days.[27] While some residents do not look forward to the festival each year and put up signs warning visitors to stay away, others enjoy the annual influx of visitors, hosting families in their homes or allowing them to camp in their yards in exchange for monetary or in-kind donations.[1][28][25]
Cultural significance
A row of bánh cuốn steaming stations at a food stall on the festival grounds.
The Marian Days celebration is a central part of Vietnamese Catholic culture in the United States.[5] For many extended families spread across the country, it is an opportunity to reunite in a central location. Parents also see it as an important opportunity for youth to reconnect with their heritage.[29] Masses and other events are held in both Vietnamese and English.[30] Food options mix the two cultures, featuring "as much boba as bao" and "as many fried Twinkies as pho".[19] Vietnamese food is a draw for many local residents who also attend the event.[28][31]
Economic impact
Marian Days is the largest annual event in the Joplin metropolitan area.[1] Annual attendance estimates range from 80,000 to 100,000.[32] The Carthage Chamber of Commerce estimates that the event brings in more than $150,000 in sales tax revenue in Carthage alone. The Congregation pays the Carthage Police Department one-third of the cost of overtime pay for security.[33][34]
Incidents
An increase in the number of religiously unaffiliated Asian youth attending the festival in the mid-1980s coincided with an increase in car theft and extortion attempts. By 1990, members of a Vietnamese gang were attending Marian Days looking for refuge and to connect with other gang members;[35] the festival was seen as a neutral ground where parties would leave each other alone.[36] Police began to bring in collections of mug shots and set up check points to search for weapons and suspects. As a result of these efforts, arrests have been made at the festival of those wanted for robbery and murder.[36][35] Local, state, and federal police, some members of gang task forces, patrol the festival.[37] At the 1995 Marian Days, a 17-year-old from Texas was shot and killed, collateral damage in a gang shootout.[38] A 16-year-old teen was arrested in association with the incident.[39] In 2003, a gang-related stabbing took place at Marian Days. Four men, believed to be associated with a gang from Oklahoma City, were arrested and charged with first-degree assault.[37] After the stabbing, people affiliated with gangs were banned from the festival and checkpoints were added to screen cars entering the festival complex. Gang-related activities decreased each year from 2003 to 2016, authorities said.[40]
In 2008, a charter bus carrying 55 pilgrims from Houston to Marian Days crashed in Sherman, Texas, killing 17 and injuring almost 40.[41]
↑Zint, Brandley (June 22, 2023). "Marian Days 2023". Orange County Catholic. Garden Grove, California: Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange. Archived from the original on October 14, 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
↑Westhoff, Andrea (August 5, 2011). "Local Catholics celebrate with pilgrims". The Carthage Press. Carthage, Missouri: GateHouse Media. Archived from the original on September 28, 2011. Retrieved August 10, 2011. The Knights of Columbus is a national Catholic men's service organization. St. Ann's chapter has been serving food at the festival for over 20 years and usually serves around 5,000 meals per year.
↑Beyette, Beverly (August 21, 1991). "Old Ties in a New World". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. pp.E1, E3. Retrieved March 17, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
↑Triều Giang (July 2016). "Dòng Đồng Công chuẩn bị cho Đại Hội Thánh Mẫu Missouri"[Congregation of the Mother Coredemptrix prepares for Marian Days Missouri]. Việt Vùng Vịnh[Viet Bay Area] (in Vietnamese). San Francisco. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
12Arnold, Jeff; Brothers, Michael (August 10, 2003). "Changing culture raises new challenges". Springfield News-Leader. Springfield, Missouri. pp.1B, 5B. Retrieved March 17, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
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