The Diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

 of Surat Thani

Surat Thani

Surat Thani is a city in Amphoe Mueang Surat Thani, Surat Thani Province, southern Thailand. It is the capital of the province Surat Thani. The city has a population of 128,179 , and an area of 68.97 square kilometers. The city's population density is 1,858.47 inhabitants per km².Suran Thani is...

(Dioecesis Suratthanensis) in southern Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 was founded in 1969, when it was split off from the Diocese of Ratchaburi

Diocese of Ratchaburi

The Diocese of Ratchaburi is located in western central Thailand. It is a suffragan diocese of the archdiocese of Bangkok....

 by the papal bull Qui Regno Christi. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Bangkok

Archdiocese of Bangkok

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bangkok, Thailand dates back to 1662, when the of created. It was renamed in 1841 and in 1924...

. The area of Surat Thani was evangelized by the Salesians of Don Bosco

Salesians of Don Bosco

The Salesians of Don Bosco is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the late nineteenth century by Saint John Bosco in an attempt, through works of charity, to care for the young and poor children of the industrial revolution...

 in the 1930s.

The diocese covers an area of 76,562 km², covering all of the southern provinces of Thailand

Provinces of Thailand

Thailand is divided into 76 provinces , which are geographically grouped into 6 regions. The capital Bangkok is not a province but a special administrative area and is included as the 77th province since it is administered at the same level as the other 76 provinces. The name of the provinces are...

, including Prachuap Khiri Khan

Prachuap Khiri Khan Province

Prachuap Khiri Khan is one of the central provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Phetchaburi in the north and Chumphon in the south. To the west it borders Tanintharyi Division of Myanmar....

 as its northernmost province. As of 2001, of the 9 million citizen 6,682 or 0.1% are member of the Catholic Church. The diocese is subdivided into 39 parishes, which are grouped by four regions.

Bishops

• Joseph Prathan Sridarunsil
  Joseph Prathan Sridarunsil
  Joseph Prathan Sridanusil SDB is the bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Surat Thani, Thailand.Born in Wat Phleng, Ratchaburi Province, he in 1964 joined the order of the Salesians of Don Bosco in Hua Hin. He studied philosophy in Hong Kong and theology in Bethlehem...
  
  , S.D.B.: appointed October 9, 2004
• Michael Praphon Chaicharoen, S.D.B.: June 21, 1988 - May 20, 2003 (died)
• Pietro Luigi Carretto, S.D.B.: June 26, 1969 - June 21, 1988 (retired)

Cathedral

The St. Raphael Cathedral (Thai: อาสนวิหารอัครเทวดาราฟาแอล) is located within the town of Surat Thani at 9°9′0"N 99°20′4"E. The church was built in 1962, and became cathedral when the diocese was established in 1969.

External links

• http://www.catsurat.org/
• catholic-hierarchy.org