The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ubon Ratchathani (''Dioecesis Ubonratchathaniensis'', th, สังฆมณฑลอุบลราชธานี) is located in north-east

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 ...

. It is a

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandri ...

of the

archdiocese of Thare and Nonseng The (Roman Catholic) Archdiocese of Thare and Nonseng (''Archidioecesis Tharensis et Nonsengensis''; th, อัครสังฆมณฑลท่าแร่-หนองแสง, ) is located in the north-east of Thailand. It is based in T ...

. The

diocese 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 associ ...

covers an area of , covering seven

provinces of Thailand The provinces of Thailand are part of the government of Thailand that is divided into 76 provinces ( th, จังหวัด, , ) proper and one special administrative area ( th, เขตปกครองส่วนท้องถิ่� ...

Amnat Charoen Amnat Charoen ( th, อำนาจเจริญ, ) is a town in Thailand, the capital of Amnat Charoen Province. It occupies parts of the sub-district Bung of Mueang Amnat Charoen District. The town is 590 km east-northeast of Bangkok. ...

Maha Sarakham Sarakham is the capital city of Maha Sarakham Province in Thailand's northeastern (Isan) region. Sarakham, as it is known to its inhabitants, is in a rice-growing area on the southern Khorat plain, straddling the Chi River. Mahasarakham is 475 ...

Roi Et Roi Et (, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in north-eastern Thailand, capital of Roi Et Province. It covers the whole ''tambon'' Nai Mueang of Mueang Roi Et district. As of 2006 it had a population of 34,229. Roi Et is 514 km from Ba ...

, Sisaket, Surin,

Ubon Ratchathani Ubon Ratchathani ( th, อุบลราชธานี, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan (with Khorat/Nakhon Ratchasima, Udon Thani, and Khon Kaen), also known as the "big four of Isan." The city is on the Mun River in the sout ...

and

Yasothon Yasothon ( th, ยโสธร, ) is a town on the Chi River in the north-eastern region of Thailand. It is the capital and administrative center of Yasothon province and seat of its city district. In this district, subdistrict Nai Mueang ( 'in ...

. In 2001, of the 7.7 million citizens, 24,760 were members of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. It is divided into 55 parishes, with 42 priests altogether.

History

The Vicariate Apostolic of Ubon was created on May 7, 1953, when the Vicariate Apostolic of Thare was split. In 1965, the western part of the territory was separated and became the Vicariate Apostolic of Nakhon Ratchasima. On December 18, 1965, the Vicariate Apostolic was elevated to a diocese.

Cathedral

The

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 denominations ...

of the diocese is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, located in Ubon Ratchathani.

Bishops

* Claudius Philippe Bayet,

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 ...

: May 7, 1953 - August 13, 1969 (resigned) * Claude Germain Berthold,

: April 9, 1970 - May 24, 1976 (resigned) * Michael Bunluen Mansap: May 21, 1976 - March 25, 2006 (retired) * Philip Banchong Chaiyara, C.Ss.R (March 25, 2006 – December 2, 2023) * Stephen Boonlert Phromsena (December 2, 2023 – present)

External links

Website of diocese
{{coord, 15, 13, 38, N, 104, 51, 2, E, type:landmark_region:TH, display=title

Amnat Charoen province Maha Sarakham province Roi Et province Sisaket province Surin province Ubon Ratchathani province Yasothon province