The Church in Cambodia has ordained the first Jesuit priest since the Church revived in the country during the early 1990s.
Father Phongphand Phokthavi, a Thai national, was ordained by Bishop Emile Destombes, apostolic vicar of Phnom Penh, on May 24, in a special ceremony in Battambang attended by 2,000 people.
The ordination of Father Phongphand, 53, brings the number of Thai priests serving in Cambodia to four.
Ham Sok, one of the many people at the ordination, said the scale of the event was a sign that the Church in Cambodia is growing.
During the ceremony, Jesuit Monsignor Enrique Figaredo, apostolic prefect of Battambang, said Father Phongphand "always gives himself to others, loves the poor and encourages people who have lost hope."
The monsignor, who has known the priest for 20 years, cited one occasion when Father Phongphand saw some people without shoes and offered them his own, saying, "I have another pair."
Cambodia has a special place in the Thai priest's heart. During the 1980s he helped Cambodian refugees in Thailand while working with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). Later in the 1990s he went to Cambodia with returning refugees and helped build a vocational center for the disabled near Phnom Penh.
Link (here)
Father Phongphand Phokthavi, a Thai national, was ordained by Bishop Emile Destombes, apostolic vicar of Phnom Penh, on May 24, in a special ceremony in Battambang attended by 2,000 people.
The ordination of Father Phongphand, 53, brings the number of Thai priests serving in Cambodia to four.
Ham Sok, one of the many people at the ordination, said the scale of the event was a sign that the Church in Cambodia is growing.
During the ceremony, Jesuit Monsignor Enrique Figaredo, apostolic prefect of Battambang, said Father Phongphand "always gives himself to others, loves the poor and encourages people who have lost hope."
The monsignor, who has known the priest for 20 years, cited one occasion when Father Phongphand saw some people without shoes and offered them his own, saying, "I have another pair."
Cambodia has a special place in the Thai priest's heart. During the 1980s he helped Cambodian refugees in Thailand while working with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). Later in the 1990s he went to Cambodia with returning refugees and helped build a vocational center for the disabled near Phnom Penh.
Link (here)
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