Cardinal Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, the first cardinal of Laos, was ordained in a refugee camp and jailed for three years by the country’s communist rulers.

Born on April 8, 1944, in Bonha-Louang, Xiangkhouang province, Laos, he is of Khmu ethnicity and was baptized in 1952 after his widowed mother converted to Catholicism. His early religious education came from French Oblate Missionaries, who later sent him to Canada to study philosophy and theology at the Voluntas Dei seminary.

Ordained priest on November 5, 1972, in a refugee camp, Mangkhanekhoun served the Apostolic Vicariate of Vientiane for over 25 years, including more than a decade in rural areas. His dedication to the Church was tested when he spent three years in prison from 1984 to 1987, jailed by communist rulers.

In 2000, Pope John Paul II appointed him Vicar Apostolic of Paksé and titular bishop of Aquae Novae in Proconsulari. He was consecrated as a bishop on April 22, 2001. Mangkhanekhoun developed an innovative seminary education system, requiring candidates for priesthood to spend one to three years in pastoral work after their initial studies.

His leadership roles expanded when he served as president of the Episcopal Conference of Laos and Cambodia from 2009 to 2014. In 2017, Pope Francis appointed him as apostolic administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Vientiane, and on May 21 of the same year, announced his intention to elevate Mangkhanekhoun to the rank of cardinal.

On June 28, 2017, Mangkhanekhoun was officially made a cardinal, becoming the first from Laos to hold this position. He was assigned the title of San Silvestro in Capite and later appointed to several important Vatican bodies, including the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

Throughout his life, Cardinal Mangkhanekhoun has maintained a close connection with the Oblate missionaries who shaped his early religious formation. He credits them for his spiritual inheritance and spirit of service, often recalling the influence of Blessed Wauthier, who was his parish priest.

His elevation to the cardinalate is also in recognition of the missionary character of the Church in Laos and its focus on serving the poor, aligning with Pope Francis’ vision for the Church in the peripheries.

Cardinal Mangkhanekhoun speaks Khmu, Laotian, French and English.