The Catholic Church in Laos is part of the worldwide

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, under the spiritual leadership of the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. The Catholic Church is officially recognized by the government.US State Dept 202
Laos: International Religious Freedom Report 2022
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Hierarchy

There are no dioceses in the country. Rather, Laos is divided into four Apostolic Vicariates, which are pre-diocesan jurisdictions that are 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 ...

and are exempt, i.e., directly subject to 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

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: * Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...

. The four vicariates are: * Vicariate Apostolic of Luang Prabang * Vicariate Apostolic of Paksé * Vicariate Apostolic of Savannakhet * Vicariate Apostolic of Vientiane Each vicariate is headed by an

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 Chur ...

, who thereby is a member of the common

episcopal conference An episcopal conference, sometimes called a conference of bishops, is an official assembly of the bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of bishops to ...

of Laos and (Indochinese neighbour)

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

. The Holy See has an Apostolic Delegation (papal diplomatic legation of lower rank than an embassy) to Laos. The delegation, however, is based in

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 ...

, the capital of neighbouring Thailand. The papal legation to Laos is vested in the

Apostolic nuncio An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...

to Thailand (as are also the papal legations to Cambodia and

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

History

On 4 May 1899, 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 of ...

was established on territory split off from the Apostolic Vicariate of Eastern Siam; it would be renamed on 21 December 1950 as Apostolic Vicariate of Thare, after its new see in

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 ...

, to become the present (Thai) Metropolitan

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 Apostolic Vicariate of Laos lost territories in two splits : * on 14 June 1938 the Apostolic Prefecture of Vientiane and Luang-Prabang was split off, which on 13 March 1952 was promoted as

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 jurisdict ...

* on 21 December Apostolic Prefecture of Thakhek was split off, which on 24 February 1958 was promoted as Apostolic Vicariate of Thakhek, which on 26 November 1963 was renamed as Apostolic Vicariate of Savannakhet On 1 March 1963, the

Apostolic Vicariate of Luang Prabang The Apostolic Vicariate of Luang Prabang ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Luangensis Prabangensis) is a Latin rite jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Laos. As an apostolic vicariate, it is a pre-diocesan jurisdiction, entitled to a titular bisho ...

was in turn split off from the Apostolic Vicariate of Vientiane. On 12 June 1967, the Apostolic Vicariate of Pakse was split off from the Apostolic Vicariate of Savannakhet).

Description

290px, Map of Laotian apostolic vicariates. In 2007 many Catholics were ethnic Vietnamese, concentrated in major urban centers and surrounding areas along the Mekong River in the central and southern regions of the country; the Catholic Church had an established presence in five of the most populous central and southern provinces, and Catholics are able to worship openly. The Catholic Church's activities were more circumscribed in the north,United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
Laos: International Religious Freedom Report 2007
''This is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

.'' where there were four bishops, two located in Vientiane and others located in the cities of

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 ...

and Pakse. One of the two bishops resident in Vientiane oversaw the Vientiane Diocese and was responsible for the central part of the country while the second bishop resident in Vientiane was the Bishop of Luang Prabang - he was assigned to the northern part of the country, but while the Government did not permit him to take up his post, it did permit him to travel to visit church congregations in the north. Relationship between the Church and government has been strained since 1950s, a time when the Church was openly opposed to Pathet Lao. The relationship after 1975 is categorised as mutually suspicious within each other. The church's property in Luang Prabang was seized after the 1975 Communist takeover, and there is no longer a parsonage in that city. In 2007 an informal Catholic training center in Thakhek prepared a small number of priests to serve the Catholic community while several foreign nuns temporarily serve in the Vientiane diocese.

2020s

There are 100,000 Catholics in Laos in 2022, rising from 50,000 - 60,000 Laotian Catholics in 2015. Reports stated that 47 priests and 107 nuns served 180 parishes.Catholics And Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-08
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Hierarchy

History

Description

2020s

See also

References

Bibliography

External links and sources