Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
and
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, both former French colonies in
Indochina
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
(
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
), consists solely of an entirely missionary Latin hierarchy, which is joined in a single
Episcopal conference
An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...
of Laos and Cambodia (French acronym CELAC). There are only pre-diocesan jurisdictions (all exempt, i.e. not part of an
ecclesiastical province
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...
but directly dependent on the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
and its missionary
Roman Congregation Propaganda Fide
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
), no single proper see yet :
* five Apostolic Vicariates, in Laos except one in Cambodia - only they are entitled to a
titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...
* two
Apostolic Prefecture
An apostolic prefect or prefect apostolic is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a 'pre-diocesan' missionary jurisdiction where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese. Although it ...
s, both in Cambodia.
There are no
titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...
s in either country. All defunct jurisdictions have current successors. Formally, there is an Apostolic Nunciature (embassy-level) to Cambodia and an
Apostolic Delegation
An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international org ...
(lower level) to Laos, as papal diplomatic representations in both countries, ''but these offices are vested (like the Apostolic Delegation to
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
) in the Apostolic Nuncio to
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
(in its capital
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
)''.
Current (Latin, exempt) jurisdictions in Cambodia
*
Apostolic Vicariate of Phnom Penh
The Vicariate Apostolic, Apostolic Vicariate of Phnom Penh (french: Vicariat apostolique de Phnom-Penh) is a territorial subdivision of the Roman Catholic Church in Cambodia. It is immediately subject to the Holy See and it is presided over by Bi ...
*
Apostolic Prefecture of Battambang
The Apostolic Prefecture of Battambang is a territorial subdivision of the Roman Catholic Church in Cambodia.
The prefecture covers an area of 80,430 km² of north-western Cambodia, covering the provinces of Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, K ...
*
Apostolic Prefecture of Kompong Cham
The Apostolic Prefecture of Kampong Cham is a territorial subdivision of the Roman Catholic Church in Cambodia.
The prefecture covers an area of 66,347 km2 of eastern Cambodia, covering the provinces of Kampong Cham, Kratié, Stung Tren ...
Current (Latin, exempt) jurisdictions in Laos
*
Apostolic Vicariate of Luang Prabang
The Apostolic Vicariate of Luang Prabang ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Luangensis Prabangensis) is a Latin rite jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Laos. As an apostolic vicariate, it is a pre-diocesan jurisdiction, entitled to a titular bisho ...
*
Apostolic Vicariate of Pakse
The Apostolic Vicariate of Pakse ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Paksensis) is a Latin rite missionary territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Laos. As an apostolic vicariate, it is a pre-diocesan jurisdiction, entitled to a titular bisho ...
*
Apostolic Vicariate of Savannakhet
The Apostolic Vicariate of Savannakhet ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Savannakhetensis) is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Laos. As an apostolic vicariate, it is a pre-diocesan jurisdiction, entitled to a titular bishop. It i ...
*
Apostolic Vicariate of Vientiane
The Apostolic Vicariate (or Vicariate Apostolic) of Vientiane ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Vientianensis; ) is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church located in northern Laos.
As an apostolic vicariate, it is a pre-diocesan jurisdicti ...