ASIA/LAOS - Two new Laotian priests, the first Redemptorists

Thakhek (Fides News Agency) - The small Catholic community of Laos will celebrate the priestly ordination of two Redemptorist deacons on April 22 at St. Louis Cathedral in Thakhek, Khammouane Province: Father Peter Gnantina Phiakeo (C.Ss.R.) and Father Philip Nouy Kamhou (C.Ss.R.). The celebration will be presided over by His Excellency Jean-Marie Vianney Prida Inthirath, Apostolic Vicar of Savannakhet-Khammouane. Representatives of the state authorities and other religious dignitaries have also been invited to the ordination ceremony and is of particular importance: Peter Gnantina Phiakeo and Philip Nouy will be the first native Laotian priests of the Redemptorist Order. The two future priests belong to the Redemptorist Province of Thailand, which announced the invitation on social media and expressed its “great joy at the gift of the two new priests,” who according to the provisions of their religious province, will be able to make a pastoral contribution to the Catholic community in Laos.
The gift of the two priests is also “a sign of the silent and steady growth of the Catholic Church in Laos,” where the religious offer assistance, especially in the pastoral care of populations in villages and remote areas, especially ethnic minorities such as the Hmong, and participates in social development projects.
Throughout Southeast Asia, Redemptorists dedicate themselves to serving the poorest and most vulnerable (such as internally displaced persons) and ethnic minorities, contributing to the training of local parish personnel. The Redemptorists of the Province of Thailand also serve and care for people of Laotian origin and the Hmong ethnic group in the northeastern Thai province of Nan. Over time, a close relationship has developed with the Laotian people, characterized by understanding and solidarity. This has also led to vocations to religious life and the priesthood, as in the case of the two deacons who are now being ordained priests. The ordination and presence of new local priests represents "an important step towards a more stable presence within Laotian borders," while the local Church continues to prioritize the pastoral care of young Laotians who feel called to the priesthood, as the permanent presence of foreign missionaries or religious in the country is not permitted.
The Redemptorists have maintained close ties with Laos since the mid-20th century: Between the 1920s and 1940s, the religious began their missionary work in Southeast Asia and established communities in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. Particularly from Thailand, the Redemptorists supported the small Laotian Catholic community and contributed to the formation of young men who felt called to religious life and the priesthood and entered the seminary. Nearly two centuries after the arrival of the Gospel, the Catholic Church in Laos, according to the 2025 Pontifical Yearbook, now numbers approximately 53,000 faithful and is divided into four Apostolic Vicariates: Vientiane, Thakhek, Pakse, and Luang Prabang. Each of these vicariates has small parishes and communities, some of which are scattered in the most remote villages. The Laotian Catholic community is served by about 30 diocesan priests and 26 religious priests and includes around 50 seminarians (in the seminary and the minor seminary). A local female religious congregation (the Sisters of the Lovers of the Cross) and twelve international religious orders are active in the country, comprising a total of about 150 members.
A sign of the revival of the Catholic community and the special encouragement of new vocations to religious life was the priestly ordination of Sophone Vilavongsy, a priest of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, in Vientiane in 2005, after a long period of closure. This was the first priestly ordination of the Catholic Church in Laos since 1975, when the communist Pathet Lao movement seized power in the country. Since then, the communist government has restricted religious activities, ordered the expulsion of all foreign missionaries, and refused to grant the Catholic Church permission to conduct new priestly ordinations locally. The last priestly ordinations in Laos took place in 2018, when four new priests were ordained at St. Louis Cathedral in Takhek. Today, the Christian community in Laos (which includes Catholic, Protestant, Seventh-day Adventist, Baptist, and other denominations) represents about 1.5% of the population of approximately 7.5 million, the majority of whom are Buddhists. (PA) (Fides News Agency, 20/4/2026)

Share: