Category: Church

The Catholic Church in Cambodia.

Not quite right…

There are two oddities about this photo of the front of the property of what today is known as the Municipality or City Hall. The beautiful old colonial building can be glimpsed through the trees. The first oddity is the display celebrating the ruling political party and the 43rd anniversary of the prime minister. Does that belong on a government property with the city hall for all the people? The second oddity is the fence. Notice the crosses in the fence. Before the Khmer Rouge when the government confiscated all property, the building was the headquarters of the French Missionary Society for Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos). It’s rather obvious to whom the property belonged. Any thought of returning it to the church? Not really….

KOMISO Clinic #2

On February 8 (scroll back to that date for more pictures) Bishop Olivier blessed the new medical clinic of the Korean Mission Society. In the pictures above he ceremonially cuts the ribbon to open the new building and all the guests went in to see the new facility which is quite nice. Then Bishop Olivier went through the building to sprinkle and bless the different departments with holy water.

The building behind the clinic is a residence for Korean doctors, nurses, and medical staff who will come to work in the clinic along with local medical professionals. In Cambodia, the top floor is often covered and left open, as a meeting place and activity area but also to provide a layer of open air insulation from the heat of the sun.

New Church Building

There was more substantial progress in evidence this evening when we went to the 5:00 PM mass at St. Joseph Church. Before there was a lot of preparation and clearing the site but now actually construction is taking place. It looks like they are laying a concrete foundation or maybe even the flooring of a basement.