The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bangkok ( la, Archidiœcesis Bangkokensis, th, อัครสังฆมณฑลกรุงเทพฯ) is a Latin

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

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 b ...

. The bishop's seat is the is the

Assumption Cathedral, Bangkok The Assumption Cathedral ( th, อาสนวิหารอัสสัมชัญ) is the principal Roman Catholic church of Thailand, located at 23 Oriental Avenue (Bangkok), Oriental Avenue, Charoen Krung Road, New Road, in the Bang Rak Di ...

History

It dates back to 1662, when the Apostolic Vicariate of Siam was created Catholic Hierarchy: "Archdiocese of Bangkok"
retrieved November 8, 2015 on territory split off from the

Apostolic Vicariate of Cochinchina Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Apostles in the New Testament, Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine ...

(in Vietnam). It was renamed Apostolic Vicariate of Eastern Siam (Siam Orientale) on 10 September 1841, having lost territory to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Western Siam. On 5 May 1899 it lost more territory to establish the

Apostolic Vicariate of Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR or LPDR),french: République démocratique populaire Lao (RDP Lao or RDPL) is a socialist state and the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. At the heart o ...

. It was renamed Apostolic Vicariate of Bangkok on 3 December 1924. It lost more territories: on 30 June 1930 to establish Mission sui juris of Rajaburi, on 11 May 1944 to establish the Apostolic Vicariate of Chantaburi and on 17 November 1959 to establish the Apostolic Prefecture of Chieng-Mai, both now its suffragan. On 18 December 1965, it was elevated to the rank of a

Metropolitan archdiocese A metropolis religious jurisdiction, or a metropolitan archdiocese, is an episcopal see whose bishop is the metropolitan bishop or archbishop of an ecclesiastical province. Metropolises, historically, have been important cities in their provinces. ...

. On 9 February 1967 it lost territory to establish the

Diocese of Nakhon Sawan The (Roman Catholic) Diocese of Nakhon Sawan (''Dioecesis Nakhonsauanensis'', th, สังฆมณฑลนครสวรรค์) is located in central Thailand. It is a suffragan diocese of the archdiocese of Bangkok. The diocese covers a ...

, as its suffragan. It enjoyed a papal visit from

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 ...

in May 1984.

Extent

The archdiocese covers an area of 18,831 km², and as of 2002 it is responsible for 81,646 Catholic Christians, 0.7% of the about 12 million living in the area. It covers the administrative provinces Ayutthaya, Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom,

Nonthaburi Nonthaburi ( th, นนทบุรี, ) is the principal city of the district and province of the same name in Thailand. On 15 February 1936, Nonthaburi town municipality (''thesaban mueang'') was established, which only covered Suan Yai ...

Pathum Thani Pathum Thani ( th, ปทุมธานี, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, directly north of Bangkok. It is the capital of the Pathum Thani province, Thailand as well as the Mueang Pathum Thani district. As of 2005, it ...

, Samut Prakan,

Samut Sakhon Samut Sakhon ( th, สมุทรสาคร, Pronunciation is a City in Thailand, capital of Samut Sakhon province. It is a stop on the Maeklong Railway. Samut Sakhon is 48 km from Bangkok. It is part of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region ...

and

Suphanburi Suphan Buri () is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand. It covers '' tambon'' Tha Philiang and parts of ''tambons'' Rua Yai and Tha Rahat, all within the Mueang Suphan Buri District. As of 2006 it had a population of 26,656. The to ...

; also the parts west of the

Bang Pa Kong River The Bang Pakong ( th, แม่น้ำบางปะกง, , ) is a river in east Thailand. The river originates at the confluence of the Phra Prong River and the Hanuman River near Kabin Buri, Prachinburi Province. It empties after 231 ki ...

Chachoengsao Chachoengsao ( th, ฉะเชิงเทรา, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in central Thailand, capital of Chachoengsao Province. It is on the banks of the Bang Pakong River. It includes ''tambon'' Na Mueang and parts of Ban Mai, Bang Ti ...

and

Amphoe Ban Na Ban Na ( th, บ้านนา, ) is a district (''amphoe'') in the western part of Nakhon Nayok province, central Thailand. History In the Ayutthaya era, the people of Tambon Pa Kha were elephant catchers (กองโพนช้าง), ca ...

Nakhon Nayok Nakhon Nayok City is a capital of Nakhon Nayok province in the central region of Thailand. The city (''thesaban mueang'') covers ''tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district ('' amphoe'' ...

belong to the diocese.

Ordinaries

Apostolic Vicars of Siam

Louis Laneau Louis Laneau (31 May 1637 in Mondoubleau16 March 1696 in Ayutthaya Kingdom, Ayutthaya) was a French bishop of the 17th century who was active as a missionary in the kingdom of Siam (modern Thailand). He was a member of the Paris Foreign Missions S ...

M.E.P. The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (french: Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris, short M.E.P.) is a Roman Catholic missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular priests and lay persons ...

(1669-1696) * Louis Champion de Cicé, M.E.P (1700-1727) * Jean-Jacques Tessier de Quéralay, M.E.P. (1727-1736) * Jean de Lolière-Puycontat, M.E.P. (1738-1755) *

Pierre Brigot Pierre Brigot (1 September 1713 – 8 November 1791) was a missionary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society and was the first Superior of Karnatic Mission headquartered at Pondicherry which later became the Archdiocese of Pondicherry and C ...

, M.E.P. (1755-1776), appointed Ecclesiastical Superior of the

Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is the southeastern coastal region of the Indian subcontinent, bounded by the Utkal Plains to the north, the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Kaveri delta to the south, and the Eastern Ghats to the west, extending over an ...

(India) * Olivier-Simon Le Bon, M.E.P. (1776-1780) * Joseph-Louis Coudé, M.E.P. (1782-1785) * Arnaud-Antoine Garnault, M.E.P. (1786-1811) *

Esprit-Marie-Joseph Florens Esprit-Marie-Joseph Florens (June 4, 1762 – March 30, 1834) was the Vicar Apostolic of Siam. Biography Esprit-Marie-Joseph Florens was born in Lagnes, France on 4 Jun 1762. In 1786, he was ordained a priest in La Société des Missions Etr ...

, M.E.P. (1811-1834) * Jean-Paul-Hilaire-Michel Courvezy, M.E.P. (1834-1841)

Apostolic Vicars of Eastern Siam

Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix, M.E.P. (24 October 1805 – 18 June 1862) was vicar apostolic of Eastern Siam. Born in Combertault, France, he was consecrated as a priest of the Société des Missions Etrangères on 31 May 1828. On 3 June 1838 he was ass ...

, M.E.P. (1841-1862) * Ferdinand-Aimé-Augustin-Joseph Dupond, M.E.P. (1864-1872) * Jean-Louis Vey, M.E.P. (1875-1909) * René-Marie-Joseph Perros, M.E.P. (1909-1924)

Apostolic Vicars of Bangkok

* René-Marie-Joseph Perros, M.E.P. (1924-1947) * Louis-August-Clément Chorin, M.E.P. (1947-1965) * Joseph Khiamsun Nittayo (1965)

Archbishops of Bangkok

* Joseph Khiamsun Nittayo (1965-1972) * Cardinal

Michael Michai Kitbunchu Michael Michai Kitbunchu ( th, ไมเกิ้ล มีชัย กิจบุญชู, ; born 25 January 1929) is a Thai prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Bangkok from 1973 to 2009 and was elevated to the car ...

(1972-2009) * Cardinal Kriengsak Kovitvanit (2009–present)

Coadjutor Bishops

* Jean-Jacques Tessier de Quéralay,

(1717-1727) *

(1755) * Olivier-Simon Le Bon, M.E.P. (1764-1776) *

(1810-1811) * Barthélemy Bruguière,

(1828-1831), appointed Apostolic Vicar of Korea * Jean-Paul-Hilaire-Michel Courvezy,

(1832-1834) * Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix,

(1838-1841) * Joseph Khiamsun Nittayo (1963-1965)

Province

Its

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 sev ...

comprises the Metropolitan's own archdiocese and these five

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

bishoprics : *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Chanthaburi The (Roman Catholic) Diocese of Chanthaburi (''Dioecesis Chanthaburiensis'', Thai: สังฆมณฑลจันทบุรี) is located in eastern central Thailand. It is a suffragan diocese of the archdiocese of Bangkok. The diocese cov ...

* Roman Catholic Diocese of Chiang Mai * Roman Catholic Diocese of Chiang Rai *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Nakhon Sawan The (Roman Catholic) Diocese of Nakhon Sawan (''Dioecesis Nakhonsauanensis'', th, สังฆมณฑลนครสวรรค์) is located in central Thailand. It is a suffragan diocese of the archdiocese of Bangkok. The diocese covers ...

* Roman Catholic Diocese of Ratchaburi *

Roman Catholic Diocese of Surat Thani The (Roman Catholic) Diocese of Surat Thani (''Diœcesis Suratthanensis'', th, สังฆมณฑลสุราษฎร์ธานี) in southern Thailand was founded in 1969, when it was split off from the Diocese of Ratchaburi by the pa ...

References

Citations

Sources

GigaCatholic with incumbent biography links

External links

* {{authority control 1662 establishments in Thailand

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in 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 estimated populati ...