The Holy See announced the appointment of Msgr. Pierre Suon Hangly, Apostolic Prefect of Kompong Cham, as the new Coadjutor Vicar Apostolic of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
The appointment by Pope Leo XIV was made public through a communiqué from the Apostolic Nunciature in Thailand on June 28.
In the announcement, Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Peter B. Wells, who represents the Vatican in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, invited the faithful to join in prayer for Bishop-elect Pierre Suon Hangly and for the people entrusted to his pastoral care.
Msgr. Suon Hangly, 53, becomes the third Cambodian priest in history to hold such a high-ranking leadership role in the Catholic Church in Cambodia, following in the footsteps of Msgr. Paul Tep Im Sotha, former Apostolic Prefect of Battambang, and Bishop Joseph Chhmar Salas, former Apostolic Vicar of Phnom Penh.
Both were martyred during the Khmer Rouge regime (1975–1979).
Bishop Joseph Chhmar Salas remains a significant figure in Cambodian Church history. Ordained as Coadjutor Bishop of Phnom Penh on April 14, 1975, just three days before the capital fell to the Khmer Rouge, he and Msgr. Paul Tep Im Sotha both perished amid the regime’s brutal persecution of religious communities.
Their beatification process began in 2015, recognizing them as martyrs of the Church in Cambodia.
The appointment of Bishop-elect Suon Hangly is a historic milestone for Cambodia’s Catholic community, which has been slowly rebuilding after decades of war and religious suppression.
He is the first Cambodian priest to lead an ecclesiastical jurisdiction since the fall of the Khmer Rouge.
When appointed Apostolic Prefect of Kompong Cham in 2022 by Pope Francis, succeeding Indian-born Bishop Antonysamy Susairaj of the Missions Étrangères de Paris, Msgr. Suon Hangly reflected on the Church’s resilience:
“We have been here since 1555, but because of war the Church has not developed much. Today, in a peaceful Cambodia, the fact that we now have a Khmer Apostolic Prefect is a source of strength for young people.”
Born on April 14, 1972, in Phnom Penh, Msgr. Suon Hangly was ordained a priest in 2001 for the Apostolic Vicariate of Phnom Penh.
He served as parish priest in Kampot/Takeo from 2002 to 2007 and later pursued theological studies at the Institut Catholique de Paris in France, earning a bachelor’s degree and a licentiate in spiritual theology. Upon his return to Cambodia, he served as parish priest in Phnom Penh Thmey, vicar general of the Apostolic Vicariate of Phnom Penh, and seminary superior.
Today, the Catholic Church in Cambodia is a small but growing community, accounting for less than 1% of the population in this predominantly Buddhist nation of around 18 million people.
The country’s Catholic Church is composed of three jurisdictions: the Apostolic Vicariate of Phnom Penh, the Apostolic Prefecture of Battambang, and the Apostolic Prefecture of Kompong Cham.
Bishop-elect Suon Hangly’s appointment is widely seen as a hopeful sign for the local Church’s continuing journey of healing, leadership, and renewal after decades of suffering and displacement.
