The Apostolic Vicariate of Savannakhet ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Savannakhetensis) is a territorial jurisdiction of the

Catholic Church in Laos The Catholic Church in Laos is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome. The Catholic Church is officially recognized by the government.US State Dept 202Laos: International Religious Freedom Report ...

. 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 an ...

. It is located in central

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

. It is exempt, i.e., not part of any

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 ...

and 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 for the Evangelization of Peoples 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 ...

. The vicariate covers an area of 48,100 km² in central Laos, including the provinces of

Savannakhet Savannakhet (ສະຫວັນນະເຂດ), officially named Kaysone Phomvihane ( lo, ໄກສອນ ພົມວິຫານ; th, ไกสอน พมวิหาน) since 2005 and previously known as ''Khanthaboury'' (ຄັນທະ ...

, Khammouan and part of Bolikhamxai. By land area, it is the largest of the apostolic vicariates in Laos. Approximately 12,500 of the 2.7 million people living within the vicariate are members of the Catholic Church. The vicariate has 54

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 or m ...

es, and only 6 priests.

History

The Apostolic Vicariate of Savannakhet was originally established as the

Prefecture Apostolic 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 ...

of Thakhek on 21 December 1950, when the Vicariate Apostolic of Laos was split into two parts. The western part in Thailand was renamed the Vicariate Apostolic of Thare, while the Laotian part was formed into a new prefecture. On 24 February 1958 it was elevated to an Apostolic Vicariate. In 1963 the name was changed to Savannakhet, even though its see remained in Thakhek, Khammouan province. In 1967 the southern part of the vicariate was erected as the independent

Vicariate Apostolic of Paksé 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 bis ...

Ordinaries

Apostolic Vicars of Savannakhet

* Jean-Rosière-Eugène Arnaud, M.E.P. (1950-1969) *

Pierre-Antonio-Jean Bach Pierre-Antoine-Jean Bach (29 July 1932 – 26 June 2020) was a French-born Laotian Roman Catholic bishop. Bach was born in France and was ordained to the priesthood in 1959. He served as the Roman Catholic bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of ...

, M.E.P. (1971-1975) * Jean-Baptiste Outhay Thepmany (1975-1997) *

Jean Sommeng Vorachak Jean Sommeng Vorachek (February 24, 1933 – July 14, 2009) was the Roman Catholic bishop of the Vicariate Apostolic of Savannakhet, Laos. Ordained a Roman Catholic priest on June 29, 1963, Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioa ...

(1997-2009) * Jean Marie Vianney Prida Inthirath (2010-present) File:4.9.1.43.ThaKirche1.jpg, Catholic Church in Thakhek. File:4.9.1.45.ThaKirche3.jpg, Catholic Church in Thakhek. File:4.9.1.46.ThaSeminar.jpg, Catholic Minor Seminary in Thakhek. File:Savannakhet Catholic Church.jpg, Catholic Church in Savannakhet

References

External links

Catholic hierarchy

Christian organizations established in 1950 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century 1950 establishments in Laos Savannakhet {{Asia-RC-diocese-stub