Cha Tam Church

A Catholic church of the Chinese community in Cho Lon, blending Gothic style with a triple gate and yin-yang tiled roofs

In the heart of Cho Lon, Cha Tam Church, officially St. Francis Xavier Church, is a place of worship serving the Chinese Catholic community and has stood for over a century. It is one of only two churches in the City decorated with horizontal lacquered boards and parallel couplets like Chinese temples. Father Pierre d'Assou, whose Chinese name was Dam A To, rendered in Vietnamese as Cha Tam, was tasked with buying a plot of land in the Lo Ren neighbourhood, right in the centre of Cho Lon, to build the church. On 3 December 1900, the feast of St. Francis Xavier, Bishop Mossard blessed and laid the foundation stone, which is why the church bears this saint's name; the church was consecrated on 10 January 1902. Locals have long called it after its first parish priest: Cha Tam Church. The church follows European Gothic architecture but is rich in Chinese cultural elements: a gate built in the triple-entrance (tam quan) style, the church name written in Chinese characters, a yin-yang tiled roof with upturned eaves, lotus flowers on the ridge and a pair of carp flanking the cross. The four columns in the main hall are painted red, a colour rarely seen in Catholic churches; the building's main colours are pale yellow and white. Where the crucifix hangs, there is a pair of red-lacquered, gilded couplets written in Chinese characters. In 2024, the church completed a major restoration. Father Tam rests right by the wall, near the church entrance. Weekday Masses are at 5:30 (Vietnamese) and 17:30 (Chinese); on Sundays, Masses are at 5:30, 7:15 (Chinese), 8:45, 16:00 and 17:30 (Chinese). When visiting, dress modestly and keep quiet, especially during Mass.

English text: machine translation from the Localis platform — proper names kept in Vietnamese.