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.