Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vientiane (Agenzia Fides) - The small but vibrant Catholic community of Laos has joyfully welcomed its new bishop. Msgr. Anthony Adoun Hongsaphong, a priest of the Apostolic Vicariate of Pakse, received episcopal ordination at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Vientiane, during a solemn Eucharist celebrated on March 25, 2025. His appointment as Apostolic Vicar of Vientiane was announced by Pope Francis in December 2024. The ceremony was attended by the prelates of the Episcopal Conference of Laos and Cambodia (CELAC), gathered in the Laotian capital for their annual assembly.
Msgr. Anthony Adoun Hongsaphong, 61, succeeds Cardinal Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, who turned 80 in April 2024. Fr. Hongsaphong was a professor at the National Major Seminary of Thakeh and responsible for pastoral care in the 11 mission stations of the Apostolic Vicariate of Paksé, his hometown. Ordained a priest in 1994, he completed his studies at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland) and the Pontifical Angelicum University in Rome. He carried out pastoral service in Thailand and then in 2005, he began contributing to the Laotian Catholic community (a total of 51,000 people) by dedicating himself to the formation of young people at the Pastor Bonus preparatory seminary in Paksé.
Among the prelates from Cambodia, Jesuit Father Enrique Figaredo Alvargonzález, Apostolic Prefect of Battambang, highlights “the great hope of the Church in Laos,” highlighting “the vitality of a small but vibrant ecclesial community.” Despite the government ban on the presence of foreign missionaries, the local Church shows signs of growth. Laos has 20 priests in total, but there is a flourishing vocational program that inspires confidence for the future: some 50 Laotian boys and young men are on their way to the priesthood (about 20 in the minor seminary, 10 in the preparatory year, and 20 in the major seminary).
The Lao People's Democratic Republic is a socialist state with 7.5 million inhabitants, a Buddhist majority. The Catholic Church in Laos originated within the Apostolic Vicariate of Eastern Siam and is currently organized into four apostolic vicariates: Vientiane, Pakse, Luang Prabang, and Savannakhet. Since the official recognition of the Church by the Lao Front for National Development in 1979, relations with the government have improved, particularly in terms of religious freedom, recognized in the 1991 Constitution, which allows four religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baha'i Faith. However, in some provinces, Christianity is still viewed as a "foreign faith." (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 25/3/2025)
