Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica

Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception Vương cung thánh đường Chính tòa Đức Mẹ Vô nhiễm Nguyên tội Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame de l'Immaculée Conception
Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon
Basic information
Location	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Geographic coordinates	10°46′47″N 106°41′57″E / 10.77972°N 106.69917°E / 10.77972; 106.69917Coordinates: 10°46′47″N 106°41′57″E / 10.77972°N 106.69917°E / 10.77972; 106.69917
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
District	Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh city
Country	Vietnam
Year consecrated	1880
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Cathedral
Architectural description
Architectural type	Church
Architectural style	Romanesque
Groundbreaking	1863
Completed	1880

Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon (Vietnamese: Vương cung thánh đường Chính tòa Đức Bà Sài Gòn or Nhà thờ Đức Bà Sài Gòn; French: Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Saigon), officially Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception (Vietnamese: Vương cung thánh đường Chính tòa Đức Mẹ Vô nhiễm Nguyên tội; French: Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame de l'Immaculée Conception) is a cathedral located in the downtown of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Established by French colonists who initially named it Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Saïgon, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).

Following the French conquest of Cochinchina and Saigon, the Roman Catholic Church established a community and religious services for French colonialists. The first church was built on today's Ngo Duc Ke Street. There had been a Vietnamese pagoda, which had been abandoned during the war. Bishop Lefevre decided to make this pagoda a church.

The last church was too small. Thus, in 1863, Admiral Bonard decided to build a wooden church on the bank of Charner canal (Kinh Lớn). Lefevre put the first stone for construction of the church on 28 March 1863. The construction was completed two years later and was called "Saigon Church". When the wooden church was damaged by termites, all church services were held in the guest-chamber of the French Governor's Palace. This palace would later be turned into a seminary until the Notre-Dame Cathedral was completed.

After the design competition, bids were accepted for construction. Again, J. Bourard was the successful bidder and became supervisor of constructions.

Originally, there were three proposed sites for construction:

All building materials were imported from France. The outside wall of the cathedral was built with bricks from Toulouse. Although the contractor did not use coated concrete, these bricks have retained their bright red color until today.