Roman Catholic Diocese of Ubon Ratchathani

Diocese of Ubon Ratchathani Dioecesis Ubonratchathaniensis สังฆมณฑลอุบลราชธานี
Location
Country	Thailand
Ecclesiastical province	Thare and Nonseng
Metropolitan	Thare and Nonseng
Statistics
Area	53,917 km2 (20,817 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2010) 7,785,113 26,242 (0.3%)
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Cathedral	Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Ubon Ratchathani
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Philip Banchong Chaiyara
Metropolitan Archbishop	Louis Chamniern Santisukniram
Map
Location of the Diocese of Ubon Ratchathani

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ubon Ratchathani (Dioecesis Ubonratchathaniensis, Template:Lang-th) is located in north-east Thailand. It is a suffragan diocese of the archdiocese of Thare and Nonseng.

The diocese covers an area of 53,917 square kilometres (20,817 sq mi), covering seven provinces of Thailand - Amnat Charoen, Maha Sarakham, Roi Et, Sisaket, Surin, Ubon Ratchathani and Yasothon. In 2001, of the 7.7 million citizens, 24,760 were members of the Catholic Church. It is divided into 55 parishes, with 42 priests altogether.

History

The Vicariate Apostolic of Ubon was created on May 7, 1953, when the Vicariate Apostolic of Thare was split. In 1965, the western part of the territory was separated and became the Vicariate Apostolic of Nakhon Ratchasima. On December 18, 1965, the Vicariate Apostolic was elevated to a diocese.

Cathedral

The cathedral of the diocese is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, located in Ubon Ratchathani.15°13′38″N 104°51′2″E

Bishops

• Claudius Philippe Bayet, M.E.P.: May 7, 1953 - August 13, 1969 (resigned)
• Claude Germain Berthold, M.E.P.: April 9, 1970 - May 24, 1976 (resigned)
• Michael Bunluen Mansap: May 21, 1976 - March 25, 2006 (retired)
• Philip Banchong Chaiyara, C.Ss.R: appointed March 25, 2006

External links

• Website of diocese
• catholic-hierarchy.org