The Apostolic Vicariate of Luang Prabang () is a

Latin Rite Latin Rite may refer to: *The Latin Church, a ''sui iuris'' church of the Catholic Church *The Latin liturgical rites, a family of Christian rites and uses which includes the Roman Rite *The Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritua ...

jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Laos. As an

apostolic vicariate An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

, 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 an ...

. It is located in northern

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

. 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, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

but directly dependent on the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

and its missionary

Dicastery for Evangelization The Dicastery for Evangelization is a department (dicastery) of the Roman Curia. It was created on 5 June 2022 through the merger of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peop ...

. It currently has no cathedral since its former

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of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

, in Luang Prabang, has been secularized. The vicariate has been vacant since 1975, entrusted to a series of temporary

Apostolic administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

Statistics

The vicariate covers 80,425 km² in the northern Laotian civic provinces of

Luang Prabang Luang Prabang (Lao language, Lao: wikt:ຫຼວງພະບາງ, ຫຼວງພະບາງ, pronounced ), historically known as Xieng Thong (ຊຽງທອງ) and alternatively spelled Luang Phabang or Louangphabang, is the capital of Lu ...

, Xaignabouli, Oudomxai,

Phongsali Phongsali or Phongsaly () is the capital of Phongsaly Province, Laos. It is the northernmost provincial capital in Laos. Languages Climate Phongsali has a subtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate cla ...

, Louang Namtha and Bokeo. As of 2014, it pastorally cares for 2,693 Catholics (0.2% of 1,692,000 total) in 8 parishes with one priest and five seminarians.

History

It was established on March 1, 1963 as Apostolic Vicariate of Luang Prabang with territory split off from the Vicariate Apostolic of Vientiane. Since the Communist takeover of Laos in 1975 the Catholic Church in the vicariate of Luang Prabang has been strongly suppressed.

Ordinaries

Apostolic Vicars of Luang Prabang

* Lionello Berti, O.M.I. (1963-1968) * Alessandro Staccioli, O.M.I. (1968-1975), appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Siena–Colle di Val d’Elsa–Montalcino

Apostolic Administrators

* Thomas Nantha (1975-1984), concurrently Apostolic Vicar of Vientiane * Jean Khamsé Vithavong O.M.I (1984-1999), concurrently Apostolic Vicar of Vientiane * Father Tito Banchong Thopanhong (1999–2019) * Cardinal

Louis-Marie_Ling_Mangkhanekhoun Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, IVD (born 8 April 1944) is a Laotian prelate of the Catholic Church. A bishop since 2001, he was made a cardinal on 28 June 2017 and served as the Vicar Apostolic of Vientiane since December 2017 until December 2 ...

(2019-2024)

References

External links

Religious freedom in the Democratic People's Republic of Laos
(PDF document, in German, English and French)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luang Prabang, Apostolic Vicariate Apostolic vicariates

Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Christian organizations established in 1963