Antique Vietnamese Catholic IHS Cross Design Chasuble Authentic Ecclesiastical Cloth

This vintage Vietnamese Catholic white cloth chasuble features a central cross with the Christogram IHS (the ancient symbol for Jesus Christ) in the middle and a beautiful variety of intricately woven floral and fruit designs, all of gilded metallic threads. Its condition is rather imperfect, stained in many places, testament to its age and how much it was used. Most people associate Catholicism in Viet Nam with the French colonial period, which is very much the case. However, Jesuits from all over Europe brought Catholicism to Asia 500 years before that. The Catholic tradition in Viet Nam and all the other Catholic populations of Asia is well established. The Catholic population of Vietnam is only about 8% of the total but that is about 7 million people. During certain periods of their history Catholics have been some of the most influential people in the country. One of the largest concentrations of Catholics in Viet Nam is in the province of Nam Dinh, a short distance south o