VIENTIANE, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF. - Located in the center of the French protectorate of Laos (Indochina), it covers an area of 100,000 sq km. It is entrusted to the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
On May 4, 1899, the apostolic vicariate of Laos was erected, detached from that of Eastern Siam (today Bangkok). On June 17, 1938, the apostolic prefecture of V. and Luang-Prabang was erected, by dismemberment of that same apostolic vicariate of Laos. On March 13, 1952, that prefecture was elevated to an apostolic vicariate of V., which is the official capital of the Kingdom of Laos, which, although under a French mandate, enjoys a certain independence. The seat of government is Luang-Prabang.
Around 1630, Fr. Giovanni Maria Liera, a Jesuit, was the first missionary to visit Laos. From Tonkin he reached V. He remained there for a few months and then reached Annam again. On several occasions, some Fathers of the Paris Foreign Missions attempted to penetrate into Laos, coming from Tonkin, Annam, Cambodia or Siam. All these attempts were in vain and most of the missionaries died of jungle fever, crossing the mountains and the immense forests that separate Laos from these various countries. In 1881, Msgr. Vey, apostolic vicar of Siam, made a new attempt, sending there Frs. Giovanni Battista Prudhomme and Francesco Saverio Guego. These, after a journey of three months, arrived at Ubon, a Siamese city in the southern part of Laos. Fr. Prudhomme in 1884 founded the Christian communities of Makhon and Sakhon, while Fr. Rondel in 1889 founded the Christian community of Kangsadok and in 1893 that of Paksane. In 1929, Father Thibaud, in charge of the Christian community of V., made an exploratory journey to Luang-Prabang, Paklai and Huei-sai, where he found a certain number of Annamite Christians. In that same year, a Canadian Protestant pastor came to settle in Luang-Prabang. Meanwhile, means of communication became easier, a motorized pirogue service having been activated, and the missionaries' visits became more frequent. Starting from 1931, Father Excoffon, in charge of the region of V., organized the Christian community of Luang-Prabang and built a chapel there. On Jan. 14, 1935, the first Oblate missionaries of Mary Immaculate arrived in Laos, led by Fr. Enrico Mazoyer. Out of a population of 123,000 inhabitants, Catholics number 4,214 with 413 catechumens. There are 20 priests, of whom 17 are Oblates of Mary Immaculate and 3 are Annamites; 2 lay brothers; a minor seminary with 20 seminarians; 10 sisters, both foreign and native; 12 catechists; 9 teachers; 13 sacred buildings; 8 pharmacies; an orphanage; 2 elementary schools; 12 prayer schools; a printing press.