“We were very fortunate to have them,” Le said.

For Le and his family, their new life in the United States started at a remote farmstead in Louisiana. The boy who had grown up in a primarily fishing village soon found himself learning how to ride a horse and how to drive a tractor.

Years later, Le would move, and find Carthage and the CMC.

The CMC is a seminary founded by an order of Vietnamese monks after the fall of South Vietnam. Marian Days was started as an annual reunion for Catholic Vietnamese refugees.

“We never thought we would end up in the United States,” Le said of his family’s departure from Vietnam. “We just relied on God’s providential care.”

Events at Marian Days

Today

7:30 a.m.: Mass to pray for evangelization.

7 p.m.: Mass in honor of the 117 Vietnamese martyred saints.

9 p.m.: Open-air entertainment.

Saturday

5 p.m.: Procession of the International Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima.