The (Roman Catholic) Diocese of Chanthaburi (Dioecesis Chanthaburiensis, Thai: สังฆมณฑลจันทบุรี) is located in eastern central Thailand. It is a suffragan diocese of the archdiocese of Bangkok. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... In some Christian churches, the diocese is an administrative territorial unit governed by a bishop, sometimes also referred to as a bishopric or episcopal see, though more often the term episcopal see means the office held by the bishop. ... Chanthaburi is a town in Thailand, capital of the Chanthaburi province. ... The Kingdom of Thailand is a country in Southeast Asia, bordering Laos and Cambodia to the east, the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia to the south, and the Andaman Sea and Myanmar to the west. ... Assumption Cathedral, Bangkok The (Roman Catholic) Archdiocese of Bangkok, Thailand (Archidioecesis Bangkokensis, อัครสังฆมณฑลกรุงเทพฯ) dates back to 1662, when the Vicariate Apostolic of Siam of created. ...

The diocese covers an area of 34,000 km², covering the provinces - Chanthaburi, Chonburi, Prachinburi, Rayong, Sa Kaeo and Trat, as well as the parts east of the Bang Pa Kong river in Chachoengsao, and most of Nakhon Nayok. Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... Thailand is divided into 76 provinces (Thai: จังหวัด, changwat, singular and plural), which are grouped into 5 groups of provinces - sometimes the East and Central are grouped together. ... History After the Paknam crisis in 1893 the French colonist troops occupied Chanthaburi, returning it in 1905 when Thailand gave up ownership of the western part of Cambodia. ... Geography The province is located at the Bight of Bangkok, the northern end of the Gulf of Thailand. ... Prachinburi (Thai ปราจีนบุรี) is a province (changwat) of Thailand. ... Rayong province (Thai spelling ระยอง) is a province (changwat) of Thailand. ... Sa Kaeo (Thai สระแก้ว) is a province (changwat) of Thailand. ... Trat (Thai ตราด) is a province (changwat) of Thailand. ... Geography The west part of the province is the low river plain of the Bang Pa Kong river, which is used extensively for farming rice. ... Nakhon Nayok (Thai นครนายก) is one of the central provinces (changwat) of Thailand. ...

As of 2001, of the 4.1 million citizen 31,384 are member of the Catholic Church. It is divided into 41 parishes, having 88 priests altogether.

History

On May 11 1944 the Vicariate Apostolic of Chantaburi was created, which was elevated to a diocese on December 18 1965. 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Apostolic vicariate is a type of Roman Catholic diocese for non-Catholic or missionary regions and countries. ... 1965 was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

Bishops

• Lawrence Thienchai Samanchit: appointed July 3 1971
• Francis Xavier Sanguon Souvannasri: December 18 1965 - April 3 1970 (Resigned)

From the creation of the Vicariate Apostolic till his death in 1952 it was administrated by Giacomo Luigi Cheng, bishop of the titular see of Barcusus. His successor, appointed in 1953, was bishop of the titular see Oenoanda, and became bishop of Chanthaburi 1965 when the vicariate was elevated to a diocese. When first appointed auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Honolulu in Hawaii, Joseph Anthony Ferrario became a titular bishop of the titular see of the ancient Egyptian city of Cusae. ...

External links

• Website of the diocese (http://www.chandio.org)
• catholic-hierarchy.org  (http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dchnt.html)