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 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 is located in central 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 ...

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 R ...

and its missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The vicariate covers an area of 48,100 km² in central Laos, including the provinces of Savannakhet, 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 o ...

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 Thakhek (Lao language: ທ່າແຂກ), the capital of Khammouane Province, is a town in south-central Laos on the Mekong River. The Third Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge, linking Thakhek and Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, across the river, started ...

, Khammouan province. In 1967 the southern part of the vicariate was erected as the independent Vicariate Apostolic of Paksé.

Ordinaries

Apostolic Vicars of Savannakhet

* Jean-Rosière-Eugène Arnaud, M.E.P. (1950-1969) * Pierre-Antonio-Jean Bach, M.E.P. (1971-1975) * Jean-Baptiste Outhay Thepmany (1975-1997) * Jean Sommeng Vorachak (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
Savannakhet Savannakhet Christian organizations established in 1950 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century 1950 establishments in Laos Savannakhet {{Asia-RC-diocese-stub