ORMOND BEACH  |  “Prince of Peace, you don’t look a day over 60,” exclaimed Bishop John Noonan as he greeted the congregation at Prince of Peace Parish March 15.

Bishop Noonan celebrated the sacrament of Confirmation at the Mass, followed by the blessing of Mary’s Peace Garden, and a diamond jubilee luncheon commemorating Prince of Peace’s 60th anniversary.

“This parish was founded on the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Bishop Noonan told the congregation. “It has lived the Gospel of Jesus Christ for 60 years. I pray that you continue to live the gospel, but to live the gospel through the lives of each and every one of you.”

The day was a joyous occasion, not only celebrating the outpouring of sacramental grace and the parish’s history, but also the opening of the long-awaited new garden, a project nearly three years in the making.

Around three years ago, members of the Vietnamese community at Prince of Peace brainstormed ideas about how to transform the large area south of the main Church. The original Our Blessed Mother Mary’s Garden contained a narrow walkway that led to a small grotto with a statue of the Blessed Virgin. Next to it small, wooden Stations of the Cross lined the area, but there was no demarcated path between the stations. While the space was large, it often went unused.

Parishioner Dominico Bui, who shepherded Mary’s Peace Garden project, recalled while the existing garden was small, it was on a nice piece of land where they could build “something that’s really nice” so that more people would spend time in the garden. They came up with the idea to redo the Stations of the Cross and create a large pathway to a new Marian statue.

Unbeknownst to Bui, Pastor Justin Vakko had been thinking about renovating the garden himself. Carmen O’Reilly, secretary at Prince of Peace, recalled talking to Father Vakko about making improvements to the existing garden. Bui brought the idea for a new Marian garden to his pastor.

“Everybody loved the idea. So, Father (Vakko) just told me ‘Dom, why don’t you just take the lead and see if you can gather information and we can get it going.’”

Bui made a post in a Facebook group of local residents to solicit landscape designers for the garden, which garnered many responses. However, after a few meetings with one of the designers, they stopped replying to Bui.

Undeterred, he reached out to a close friend of his, Bich-Nga Bui. Also a parishioner at Prince of Peace, she created a conceptual design of the garden. Impressed by her design, Bui created an animated rendering of the garden, which he shared with the parish council.

With their approval, Bui began the lengthy construction process. Following meetings with the Diocese and the city of Ormond Beach, they hired a civil engineer and an architect, parishioner Jim Wachtel, to formally design the garden. After a year of planning, securing permits, and meetings, the project was approved by the city. The project was announced to the parish community in Spring 2025, and broke ground on August 6, 2025.

The new garden is approximately 6,000 square feet, containing all 14 Stations of the Cross made from natural stone from Vietnam. There are benches beside each station, and the garden is outfitted with new lighting and landscaping. The main walkway guides visitors through the stations toward a Marian statue. Weighing 900 pounds and made of white marble from Italy, the five-foot statue of the Virgin Mary overlooks the garden, sitting on top of a five-foot-tall platform.

Bui is also excited to have a space for gatherings and celebrations, particularly for the feasts dedicated to Mary. He said the final product remains a faithful representation of their original vision, and encourages others to check out the garden.

“People can come and pray and reflect themselves,” he said.

On the day of its blessing, Bishop Noonan was surrounded by members of the parish community as he cut the ribbon to open the garden. Sister Rose Urbanczyk, director of discipleship at Prince of Peace, and Father Andrew Chien Van Nguyen, chaplain for the Vietnamese Community in Volusia County, then unveiled the new Marian statute, which was blessed by Bishop Noonan. Afterwards, women from the Vietnamese community performed two dance numbers and everyone present recited the Hail Mary in Vietnamese, Spanish, and English.

In a video message, Father Vakko thanked the parishioners for their faithful service and contributions to the community. “We are grateful for our beautiful Stations of the Cross and the stunning Marian statute, that inspires devotion and draws us closer to our Blessed Mother.”

O’Reilly anticipates the parish will make good use of the garden. They hope to hold Stations of the Cross in the garden before the end of Lent and will host the Crowning of Mary on Mother’s Day weekend at the Marian statue.

“It’s a peaceful place,” O’Reilly said. “When they finally put Mary up, I took a walk all by (myself), and I had goosebumps… I think that a lot of our parishioners are going to definitely enjoy it.”

O’Reilly said none of this would have been possible without the support of their generous volunteers.

“It has brought us all a lot closer, and the involvement from all of our volunteers was amazing. We have so many volunteers… whether those who contributed financially to those who shared in the work that they did, from the parish council to the finance committee, (and) the Vietnamese community.”

She is grateful for the relationships that have been strengthened through this project. “I think Mary brought us all closer together.”

By Lucas Blackwell of the Florida Catholic staff, March 19, 2026