The
Apostolic Vicariate of Phnom Penh is a territorial subdivision of the
Roman Catholic Church in
Cambodia. It is immediately subject to the Holy See.
The vicariate covers an area of 31,946 km² of southern Cambodia, covering the cities
Phnom Penh,
Kep and
Sihanoukville, and
Kandal,
Takéo,
Kampot,
Kampong Speu and
Koh Kong provinces. As of 2002, of the 4.4 million citizens in this prefecture, 13,250 are member of the Catholic Church. The vicariate is subdivided into 4
parishes, and has 17 priests.
History
The Vicariate Apostolic of Cambodia was erected on August 30, 1850. Since 1860 it was responsible for the provinces
Phsar Dek,
Chau Doc and
Soc Trang of
lower Cambodia, now part of
Vietnam. In 1924, it was renamed as Vicariate Apostolic of Phnom Penh. On September 20, 1955, the vicariate became responsible for all of Cambodia. In 1968, the vicariate was split into three parts, with the
Apostolic Prefecture of Battambang responsible for the north west and the
Apostolic Prefecture of Kompong Cham for the north east of the country.
During the rule of the
Khmer Rouge, all religious activities were forbidden, and many Catholics were persecuted, especially priests and other ordinaries. Also many Vietnamese Catholics, the majority of Catholics in Cambodia, were either executed or expelled from the country. Most churches were also destroyed. The number of Catholics in the area of the vicariate fell from about 30,000 to less than 10,000. In 1990, the new constitution of...
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