Jean Khamsé Vithavong
{{short description|Laotian Roman Catholic prelate (1942–2024)}}
{{refimprove| date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Bishop
| honorific-prefix = His Excellency
| name = Jean Khamsé Vithavong
| honorific-suffix =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| title = Apostolic Vicar Emeritus of Vientiane
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| term_start = 7 April 1984
| quashed =
| term_end = 2 February 2017
| predecessor = Thomas Nantha
| opposed =
| successor = Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun
| other_post = Titular Bishop of Moglaena (1982–2024)
| previous_post =
| ordination = 26 January 1975
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| consecration = 16 January 1983
| consecrated_by = Thomas Nantha, Jean-Baptiste Outhay Thepmany, Renato Raffaele Martino
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| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1942|10|18}}
| birth_place = Keng Sadoc, Laos, French Indochina
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2024|12|08|1942|10|18}}
| death_place = Vientiane, Laos
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Jean Khamsé Vithavong (18 October 1942 – 8 December 2024) was a Laotian Roman Catholic prelate, and the Apostolic Vicar of Vientiane. He was also the Titular Bishop of Moglaena.{{cite web|url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bkham.html|website=Catholic Hierarchy|title= Bishop Jean Khamsé Vithavong, O.M.I. †: Deceased: Vicar Apostolic Emeritus of Vientiane, Laos: Titular Bishop of Moglaena|date=9 December 2024|access-date=10 December 2024}}{{cite news|url= https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2024-12/laos-bishop-emeritus-vientiane-vithavongthe-death.html|title=Laos: Bishop Khamsé, former Vicar Apostolic of Vientiane, dies at 82: Bishop Jean Khamsé Vithavongthe, Vicar Apostolic Emeritus of Vientiane in Laos and a dedicated OMI missionary, has passed away at the age of 82.|first=Chainarong |last=Monthienvichienchai|work=LiCAS News via Vatican News|date=9 December 2024|access-date=10 December 2024}}
Biography
Khamsé Vithavong was born on 18 October 1942. He was educated at a seminary in France and at Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.
On 26 January 1975, at the age of 32, he was ordained a priest and a member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
On 19 November 1982, he was appointed coadjutor vicar apostolic of Vientiane, Laos, and also titular bishop of Moglaena, by Pope John Paul II, and he subsequently was installed on 7 April 1984. He served as well as administrator of the Luang Prabang vicariate from 1984 to 1999. He was also a presiding manager of the Episcopal Conference of Laos and Cambodia in the 1990s and early 2000s.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=LclscNCTz9oC&pg=PA758&dq=%22Jean+Khams%C3%A9+Vithavong%22+-wikipedia&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNo8aWvZyKAxVXKVkFHXgSK08Q6AF6BAgREAM#v=onepage&q=%22Jean%20Khams%C3%A9%20Vithavong%22%20-wikipedia&f=false|page=758|title= The Far East and Australasia 2003|publisher=Europa Publications|year=2002 |access-date=10 December 2024}}{{cite book|page=956|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U6iWqhD2ewkC&q=%22Jean+Khams%C3%A9+Vithavong%22+-wikipedia&dq=%22Jean+Khams%C3%A9+Vithavong%22+-wikipedia&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi9qOLov5yKAxW-FVkFHQpoGt04ChDoAXoECAcQAw#%22Jean%20Khams%C3%A9%20Vithavong%22%20-wikipedia|title=La Documentation catholique: Volume 72, Issues 2009-2018|year=1990|language=French|access-date=10 December 2024}}
In 1999, he was interviewed about the Laotian socialist government's prosecutions of his diocese.{{cite book|page=15|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SectAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Jean+Khams%C3%A9+Vithavong%22+-wikipedia&dq=%22Jean+Khams%C3%A9+Vithavong%22+-wikipedia&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNo8aWvZyKAxVXKVkFHXgSK08Q6AF6BAgOEAM#%22Jean%20Khams%C3%A9%20Vithavong%22%20-wikipedia|title=30 Days in the Church and in the World: Volume 17|year=1999|access-date=10 December 2024}}
Khamsé Vithavong retired as emeritus on 2 February 2017, which was accepted by Pope Francis.{{cite news|url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2017/02/02/0071/00172.html#vi|website=Vatican Press Office|title=Rinuncia del Vicario Apostolico di Vientiane (Laos) e nomina dell’Amministratore Apostolico sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis|language=Latin|access-date=10 December 2024}} He died on 8 December 2024, at the age of 82, after suffering from diabetes and a series of strokes.
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{citation | last1 = Morev | first1 = Lev | title = Religion, state, and society in contemporary Laos | url = http://tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09637499808431803 | journal = Religions, State, and Society | year = 1998 | volume = 26 | issue = 1 | pp = 31-38 | doi = 10.1080/09637499808431803 | access-date = 27 December 2022}}
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{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef | before=Thomas Nantha}}
{{s-ttl | title=Apostolic Vicar of Vientiane|years=1984–2017}}
{{s-aft | after=Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun}}
{{s-bef | before=Edward Cornelius O'Leary}}
{{s-ttl | title=Titular Bishop of Moglaena|years=1982–2024}}
{{s-aft | after=Vacant}}
{{end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khamse Vithavong, Jean}}
Category:20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Laos
Category:21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Laos
Category:20th-century Roman Catholic titular bishops
Category:21st-century Roman Catholic titular bishops
Category:Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II
Category:Ateneo de Manila University alumni
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