The Apostolic Vicariate of Pakse ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Paksensis) is a

Latin rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

missionary territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Laos. As an apostolic vicariate, it is a pre-diocesan jurisdiction, 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 ...

. It covers southern Laos. It is exempt, i.e., not part of any

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of seve ...

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 R ...

and notably its missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Its

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

episcopal see is Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, in Pakse.

History

The vicariate was established on 12 June 1967 as Apostolic Vicariate of Pakse / Paksé (French) / 巴色 (正體中文) / Paksen(sis) (Latin adjective), when it was split off from the Apostolic Vicariate of Savannakhet.

Statistics and extent

The vicariate covers the Laotian provinces of Champasak, Salavan, Xekong and Attapu, but most of the Catholics live in Champasak and Saravan. Covering an area of 45,000 km² of southern Laos, the Vicariate is the smallest of the apostolic vicariates in Laos. As of 2016, only about 15,000 (1.3%) of approximately 1.3 million people living in the area are members of the Catholic Church, half of them belonging to ethnic minorities. It is subdivided into 46

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

es served by only 7 priests. There are also 19 sisters from the Soeurs de la Charite (Sisters of Charity) and the Filles Marie de la Croix (Daughters of Mary of the Cross). As per 2014 it has 7 priests (6 diocesan, 1 religious), 22 lay religious (10 brothers, 12 sisters) and 16 seminarians.

Ordinaries

Apostolic Vicars of Pakse

* Jean-Pierre Urkia, M.E.P. (1967–1975) * Thomas Khamphan (1975–2000) * Cardinal

Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun I.V.D. (born 8 April 1944) is a Laotian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. A bishop since 2001, he has been a cardinal since 28 June 2017 and the Apostolic Vicar of the Apostolic Vicariate of Vientiane, in Laos ...

, I.V.D. (2000–2017), appointed Apostolic Vicar of Vientiane * Andrew Souksavath Nouane Asa (since 2022)

References

External links

GCatholic, with Google photo – data for all sections

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakse, Vicariate Apostolic Champasak Province Apostolic vicariates Roman Catholic dioceses in Laos

Religious organizations established in 1967 Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...