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 Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

since 28 June 2017 and the

Apostolic Vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

of the

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 ...

, in

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

, since 16 December 2017. He is also the first cardinal from Laos.

Biography

He speaks

Khmu The Khmu (; Khmu: ; lo, ຂະມຸ ; th, ขมุ ; vi, Khơ Mú; ; my, ခမူ) are an ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The majority (88%) live in northern Laos where they constitute the largest minority ethnic group, comprising elev ...

, Laotian, French, and English. He is sometimes referred to as Bishop or Cardinal Ling. He is an ethnic

. He was baptized a Catholic in 1952 after missionaries converted his mother. In the 1960s he studied philosophy and theology at the Voluntas Dei seminary in the Diocese of Edmundston, New Brunswick, Canada. He was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in a hurried ceremony in a refugee camp on 5 November 1972 for the

, Laos. He spent the years 1984 to 1987 in prison. On 30 October 2000

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed him Apostolic Vicar of Paksé and titular bishop of

Aquae Novae in Proconsulari Aquae Novae in Proconsulari is a former Ancient city and bishopric in Roman Africa and present Latin Catholic titular see. Its modern location are the ruins of Sidi-Ali-Djebin, in present Tunisia. History Aquae Novae was important enough in the ...

. He was consecrated a bishop on 22 April 2001 by Bishop Jean Khamsé Vithavong, Apostolic Vicar of Vientiane. He developed a system of seminary education that requires a candidate for the priesthood, after three years of study, to spend one to three years in pastoral work. He explained that they are "catechists, carrying medicines, aid, prayers for the people of the mountain. They integrate with the villagers, live as the villagers do in everything." He is a member of Institut Voluntas Dei, founded in 1958 at

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

, Quebec. He took his first name Louis-Marie from its founder, Fr. . On 21 May 2017,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

announced his intention to make Mangkhanekhoun a

. He was made a cardinal at a consistory on 28 June 2017. On 11 December 2016, his cousin was declared a

blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...

in the Catholic Church, Blessed Luc Sy (1938–1970), one of the

Martyrs of Laos The Martyrs of Laos are seventeen Catholic priests and professed religious as well as one lay young man venerated as martyrs killed in Laos between 1954 and 1970 of the First and Second Indochina Wars during a period of anti-religious senti ...

. On 16 December 2017, Pope Francis named him Apostolic Vicar of Vientiane. Francis made him a member of the

Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (''Dicasterium ad integram humanam progressionem fovendam'' in Latin) is a dicastery of the Roman curia. The Vatican announced the creation of the dicastery on 31 August 2016 and it becam ...

on 23 December 2017.

References

External links

*
Apostolic Vicariate of Paksé
(GCatholic.org) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mangkhanekhoun, Louis-Marie Ling 1944 births 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Laos Living people People from Champasak province Cardinals created by Pope Francis Laotian cardinals