THAKHEK, Laos (UCAN) -- Two newly ordained deacons in a hilly farming area on the bank of the Mekong river are a welcome addition to the Church community in central Laos.

About 500 Catholics attended the May 1 diaconal ordinations of Peter Vilayphone Phoneasa and Luke Soukphaphone Fongouane, both 29. Bishop Jean Sommeng Vorachak, apostolic vicar of Savannakhet, presided at the ceremony in the chapel of John Mary Vianney Major Seminary in Thakhek.

Both deacons had spent seven years there at the national major seminary and one-and-a-half years outside it. The seminary currently has 11 seminarians.

Thakhek, on the Mekong River about 240 kilometers southeast of Vientiane, is the base of Savannakhet vicariate, one of the four vicariates that cover Laos. It has about 10,000 Catholics served by seven priests and one bishop.

The last time a diaconal ordination took place here was on Oct. 1, 2000, when two deacons were ordained in the cathedral in Thakhek. More than 1,000 people from around Laos as well as Thailand attended that event. Those two deacons are now working in parishes and subparishes, and their ordinations to the priesthood have been set for December, before Christmas.

At the May 1 ceremony, Brother Vilayphone told UCA News, "It is not so easy to serve as a deacon, because I feel a lack of experience." Nevertheless, both new deacons declared it is "time to go forward" after being trained.

Brother Vilayphone also said it was the first time an ordination has taken place inside the seminary, and he had expected just 200 guests. Some of the guests at the event said they came to witness a rare event.

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