Mission Centres
City of Kompong Cham
The city of Kompong Cham is the main see of the Prefecture
of Kompong Cham. Mgr. André Lesouef, MEP came back to Cambodia
from his forced exile in 1992. After several visits to Kompong Cham
without little success he received a letter form Mrs. Bun Rath, a young
girl he had helped before and who was now married. Through this young
lady, Mgr. Lesoeuf started to rebuild the Church of the city of Kompong
Cham and from there the whole Prefecture. Mrs. Bun Nath had been baptized
in the Methodist Church of Kompong Cham while clearly stating the she
wanted to be baptized as a Catholic in memory of the priest who had
helped her with her studies in his adolescence and early youth. In 1994
she was formally admitted into the Catholic Church. She introduce to
bishop Andre her employee, Ms. Tharin, her cousin, and a friend of Tharin
named Sangvat, a sewing teacher at the market. Later on they embraced
the Christian faith. This was the way the Christian Community of Kompong
Cham city started.
In 1994 Mgr. Lesoeuf welcomed in the Prefecture two
sisters of the congregation THE LOVERS OF THE CROSS, from Thailand.
The sisters started a house for young Cambodian girls to receive sewing
training. Tharin and Sangvat lived with the sisters while helping the
girls in their sewing training. From this experience Tharin and Sangvat
attracted by the atmosphere of goodness and peace and Christian love,
expressed their desire to become Religious Sisters.
Mgr. Lesoeuf continued as the Apostolic Prefect of
Kompong Cham till July 1997 when Mgr. Antonysamy Susairaj was appointed
as Apostolic Administrator by the Holy See. Mgr. Lesoeuf offered his
services to the Prefecture till August 2001.
The Kompong Cham Church's striking feature is its youth
and warm welcome. Almost all the Christians are newly baptized people
who are not yet attached to rigid traditions.
The appointed Parish Priest of Kompong Cham is father
Gerald Vogin, MEP who attends with the help of other priest companions
and church leaders the Churches of:
- Andong Chrouk
- Phum Thmei
- Koh Rokar
Soung
It is a village located 25 km east of Kompong Cham.
Mr. Prosm a catechist from Kompong Cham, started a centre where he received
some students from the high school next door. His activities have extended
to Thmal Pech, Trapeang Russey and Knap Damrey, neighboring villages.
In
2001 three sisters of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
(from Spain) moved to Soun in order to support the apostolate initiated
by the catechist. They have established strong friendly links with the
villagers and have helped to strengthen the small Catholic Communities
that are born in the area.
In
the year 2004 father, Fr. Seok Hee, from the Korean Mission Society,
has been appointed by the bishop as the first parish priest of Soung
Church.
From Soung they accompany the communities of the neighboring
villages of:
- Thmo Petch
- Kdei Kandal
- Knop Damrei
- Memot
Trapeang Kondaol
Parish priest: Fr. F. Ponchaud
This community started with Mr. Ly Bun Chhieng, a native
from this village who had left to take refuge in the Thai Refugee Camps.
In 1993 he stared explaining the Bible to his relatives. He used to
gather around 40 people regularly. Mgr. Lesouef went every second week
of each month to accompany the group. In 1996 the first 6 girls were
baptized and 10 more entered the catechumenate. On July, 1997, a young
woman, one of the new Christians was killed in a car accident, when
coming back home from a Catechesis course she had attended in Kompong
Thom. She was considered by the villagers and Christians as a pillar
of this Church.
In
1997 father Francois Ponchaud was appointed as responsible of this community.
In 1998 he started to support the communal work of the villages who
used to come together to work in order to improve the roads to enter
the village. This works done with a lot of enthusiasm changed the life
of the villagers, specially of the young boys who had to walk through
mud for hours in order to collect grass for the cattle during the rainy
season. "The village was no longer cut off from the outside world"
was the common expression of everybody and children went to school with
pleasure.
1999 the villagers under the supervision and help from
CARITAS repaired and deepened a 6.5 km canal bringing them water. They
also rehabilitated a dam that had been build under the Khmer Rouge regime
in order to irrigate 400 hectares of land. The job was completed in
December 2001.
All these achievements changed the general atmosphere
about the presence of Christians in the village. The inhabitants of
the village realized that the Church took their everyday life into consideration,
without seeking to proselytize as it was suspected of dong at the beginning.
"You are interested in us, you take interest in the poor. You show
us that our life is valuable", said a Christian leader when asked
why he had become a Christian.
Other villages around with small Catholic Communities
are:
- Chamlat
- Chak
- Thac Cgrum
- Tchroul
- Prasat
- Pring
Kdol Leu
Parish Priest Fr. Paul Lay
In September 1994 Mgr. Lesouef went for the first time
to Kdol Leu, by boat and by road. It is a village located 40 km north
of Kompong Cham. In this area father Lazard, a French missionary had
founded a "phnong" (minority tribal group) community in 1863.
In his first trip Mgr. Lesouef met old Christians, very nice people
who seemed had forgotten everything about the Christian faith. Lacking
training before 1970 and cut off from the Church since then, the eldest
among them used to recite prayers the way it was done before 1965 and
used to sang hymns in Latin.
After the arrival of Mgr. Lesouef and then other missionaries
the community revived again. From the old ruins of the former school
and the old church they rescued the tiles and the stones that had formed
the foundations and took them to rebuild a new church and a new school.
1995 Fr. Gerald Vogin was in charge of the community
of Kdol Leu and gave priority to the building of the community of faith
and love, rather than to the mere erection of a building. In 1998 Fr.
Juan Solorzano, a Yarumal Missionary from Colombia, arrived at Kdol
Leu for a lengthy language immersion and took advantage to get close
to the hearts of the villagers and a support of the Christian community.
In
December 2001 father Paul Wang, a young Cambodian priest was appointed
by the bishop as the new parish priest of Kdol Leu.
On Decemer 16, 2001, on the occasion of the Fr. Paul's
first Mass, a solemn tribute was paid to Father Pierre Rapin, a former
Kdol Leu's Vicar who had been killed by the Vietcong in 1972 in a place
close by.
Kratie
Parish Priest Fr. Juan Solórzano
Father
Juan Solórzano, Yarumal Missionary, of Colombia, started an experience
of first evangelization in the village of Roca Kandal, near by the capital
of the Province of Kratie, to 280 Kms of Kompong Cham. The main objective
is to have a Church presence while proclaiming the Gospel with the testimony
of life, expressions of solidarity with the poorest and visits to the
families of the neighborghood. The Church supports some poor students
of the area economically, as well. In Kratie does not exist yet a Catholic
community.
Chlong: From Kratie father Juan
accompanies the Christian community of Chlong, formed by 20 Vietnamese
Catholic families who live in a floating village, on the Mekong river.
In old times used to be a large Catholic Community in this village.
The beautiful old Church built in Cambodian style by father Le Coutour,
French missionary, has been transformed into a "sala Srok",
the room for meetings of the villagers. Fr. Juan celebrated with this
community every two weeks.
Stung Treng
Parish Priest Fr. John Park Seo Pil
In the city of Stoeung Treing, Steung Treing Province,
north of Cambodia, close by the limits with Laos, there is a small Catholic
community of 23 families, mostly Vietnamese. Mgr. Andre Lesouef, Fr.
Gerald and Mgr. Antony used to visit this community several times a
year. In the year 2003 Fr. John Park Seo Pil, KMS, was appointed parish
priest.
Ratanakiri
A small community of 10 families: 8 Vietnamese and
2 Khmer families. The responsible of this community is Fr. John Park
Seo Pil who visits them several times a year.
Mondolkiri
Parish Priest Mgr. Antonysamy Susairaj
A few kilometers from the famous Ho Chi Minh trail,
near the Vietnamese border, lie several Bun Nong villages. During the
American air bombardment in the years 65 - 70, a great number of their
inhabitants took refuge with their tribal brothers of the province of
Wuang Duc in Vietnam. Over there they met some Christians with father
Jean Moriceau and other MEP priests who shared their faith with them.
When peace was restorted in 1986 they could return, officially, to their
native village of Bousra, in the Province of Mondolkiri, Northeast of
Cambodia. Since the year 1996 missionaries from Kompong Cham go to visit
the Catholic community formed by most of the inhabitants of the village.
In the town there is a protestant Church as well. In the year 2000 Mgr.
Antony consecrated a wooden church.
Mgr. Antonysamy, as the direct responsable of this community visits
them several times a year.
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Diocese of Kompong Cham