Bishop Emile Destombes retired in 2011 as the Apostolic Vicar of the Vicariate of Phnom Penh. He is a member of the Parish Foreign Mission Society and has been a large part of the rebuilding of the Catholic Church in Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge. This year marks the 50th anniversary of his ordination, and today the local church gathered to honor him. |
|
| The ceremony today was simple but heartfelt. Bishop Emile's successor, Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, brought Emile to the center of the sanctuary at the end of the service to praise and thank him for his faithful work through the years. |  |
| At the end of the service, many people from the congregation came forward to congratulate Bishop Emile and to offer him gifts and flowers. |  |
| After the mass Bishop Emile, Fr. Damien, Fr. Vincent Senechal, and Bishop Olivier looked at a souvenir book printed for this golden anniversary. |  |
| Then it was time for lunch in the newly renovated dining room in the church compound. Here Bishop Olivier gives another gift to Bishop Emile. |  |