BANGKOK (UCAN) -- The bishop of Vientiane is overjoyed that the top Vatican official for evangelization has visited the small and struggling Church in Laos.

Oblate Bishop Jean Khamse Vithavong, vicar apostolic of Vientiane, said the pastoral visit of Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, has uplifted the tiny Laotian Church.

Cardinal Sepe visited Vientiane on Nov. 25. In the capital he met government officials, Laotian Church leaders and local Catholics.

According to latest Church records, the country has 5.6 million people, 35,000 of whom are Catholics. It has four apostolic vicariates, three bishops, 13 diocesan priests, 76 nuns, 301 catechists and 16 major seminarians.

Bishop Khamse told UCA News from Vientiane that the local Church considered it "a good opportunity and very important" for a high-ranking Church official to see the local Church "reality."

He described Cardinal Sepe's visit as showing the universal Church's concern for a "tiny Church" that has a small number of priests to minister to Catholics under difficult conditions. The bishop cited the situation in his vicariate. He said he is not well but has only two other priests, one of whom is retired, to assist him in offering pastoral care to about 11,000 Catholics.

Religious activities in Laos effectively ended when communists came to power in 1975. Many local priests were imprisoned or sent to labor camps. When the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, Laos launched socioeconomic reforms. Although all priests have been released, religious freedom remains limited.

In some areas, such as Luang Prabang apostolic vicariate, permission for a pastoral visit to villages still must be sought from local authorities.

Bishop Khamse said Cardinal Sepe's visit was "very positive" not only in its direct effect on the Church but also in the good rapport between the Vatican official and government, which he hopes would give the local Church a "boost."

He pointed out that despite the "difficult timing" of the cardinal's visit, just before the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Vientiane, the government showed "proper protocol" to the Vatican official and invited him to visit the Education and Public Health ministries.

The government also invited Cardinal Sepe to bless a new training center for disabled people that is supported by St. Paul de Chartre nuns and hosted a dinner reception in the cardinal's honor, Bishop Khamse said.

A Church source told UCA News that prior to the Nov. 29-30 meeting of ASEAN heads of state, security was tight, with manned checkpoints turning back people trying to enter the capital from rural and mountainous provinces. Tourists have been told to stay away and Cardinal Sepe's visit was initially in doubt due to the heightened security, the source added.

During his visit the cardinal celebrated Mass for priests, Religious and local lay Catholics at the Vientiane cathedral. Present were Bishops Louis Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun and Jean Sommeng Vorachak, respectively apostolic vicars of Pakse and Thakhek-Savannakhet, and Monsignor Tito Banchong Thopayong, administrator of Luang Prabang vicariate.

Cardinal Sepe explained to local Catholics that his intention in visiting was to strengthen their hope so no "difficulty" would distract them from living their Christian faith and building up the Church despite its small size.

He encouraged them to bear witness to Jesus and the Gospel and to spread the Good News among the people of Laos. He said his visit aims to convey Pope John Paul II's concern and love for this tiny Church.

Bishop Khamse said that despite the difficult conditions facing the Laotian Church, the cardinal described it as "lively."

Cardinal Sepe is on a pastoral visit to Southeast Asia from Nov. 21 to Dec. 3. He has already visited Myanmar and Thailand, to which he returned Nov. 26 from Laos, and is to visit Cambodia.

END