History of the Apostolic Prefecture of Kompong Cham

Apostolica Praefectura Kompongchamensis

BISHOP: PREFECT APOSTOLIC: Mgr. Antonysamy SUSAIRAJ, MEP, Apostolic Administrator from July 16th, 1997 and then appointed as the new Apostolic Prefect on May 27th, 2000.

Date of erection as APOSTOLIC PREFECTURE: the 26th of September of 1968

It has 66,347 Km² located covering the east provinces of Cambodia: Kompong Cham, Kratié, Stung Treng, Rattanakiri, Mondolkiri, Svay Rieng and Prey Veng.

The first appointed Apostolic Prefect was: Msgr. André Lesouëf, MEP (1918 - 2004)

According to Vatican statistics the Apostolic Prefecture of Kompong Cham in the year 1970 had nearly 20,000 Catholics in a total population of around 2,000.000 (two million people). The 1.0% of the population was Catholic. In 1970 the Prefecture had 14 priests serving the Church. Among them 3 were diocesan priests (local clergy), distributed in 18 parishes, with around 36 small communities all together. Religious Brothers and Sisters in 1970 were 84, belonging to different religious Congregations. In the early 70's due to the worsening of the social and political situation, bishop André requested all the priests to leave the Prefecture and go to Phnom Penh, as a measure to give more security to the priests, since four of them had been already killed in different areas of the Prefecture.

In the year 2004 the Prefecture has 9 priests serving as missionaries: Fr. Paul Lay, (diocesan priest) Fr. François Ponchaud, MEP, Vicar Delagate, Fr. Gerald Vogin, MEP, Fr. Juan Solorzano, mxy, Fr. Kwak Seok Hee, KMS, Fr. Seo Pil John Park, KMS, Fr. Alberto Caccaro, PIME, , Fr. Omer Giraldo, mxy and bishop Antonysamy.

4 Religious Congregations:

1. The Sisters of the Providence of Portieux: Sisters Marie-Alain Long Sopheap, Sainte Marie Noun Phaly.

2. The Congregation Lovers of the Cross of Ubon, Thailand: Sisters Marie-Xavier Booprasom Thipahorn, Sr. Pelagie Saison Sompong; Sr. Chanchira Hong Loi Wong; Sr. Sri Sisompon Ngam Wong.

3. Sisters Lovers of the Cross, Kompong Cham, Cambodia: Sr. Sangvath and Sr. Tharin

4. Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: Helen Meneses and Berta Vigo.

Novitiate of the Congregation Lovers of the Cross, Kompong Cham: 1 postulant: Sok Cheat.

Together the Priests, religious sisters and local lay missionaries, serve in 33 small Communities dispersed in the 7 provinces with a total of 4,0000 Catholics. Among them, around 3,200 are of Vietnamese origin and no more than 800 of Khmer origin.

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