First Khmer Salesian priest to be ordained on May 31

Cambodia is soon to get its first Khmer Salesian to be ordained into the priesthood on May 31.

The Salesian Delegation of Cambodia, with great joy and gratitude to God, is glad to invite people to the priestly ordination of Yohan Bosco Kong Somony.

Bishop Olivier Michel Marie Schmitthaeusler, MEP, Vicar Apostolic of Phnom Penh, will ordain the candidate. 

"Khmer" refers to an ethnicity and a language primarily associated with Cambodia.  The Khmer people are an Austroasiatic ethnic group, the majority population of Cambodia, who speak the Khmer language, which is also the official language of the country. The Khmer language is part of the larger Austroasiatic language family, along with languages like Mon and Vietnamese. 

Khmer people comprise over 95% of Cambodia's population of 17 million.

Khmer is the official language of Cambodia and is spoken by the Khmer people, as well as by Khmer communities in parts of Thailand and Vietnam. 

The Royal Government of Cambodia requested Don Bosco missionaries in 1990 to come and live in Cambodia for the reconstruction period after the war.

In 1992, the Salesians of Don Bosco arrived in Cambodia from Thailand. While the Salesians had been present in Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand since the early 20th century, they had not established a presence in Laos, Cambodia, or Malaysia.

Today, Salesians run technical schools and children’s funds in Cambodia.

The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), also called the Society of Saint Francis de Sales, is a Catholic religious order of men that Saint John Bosco founded in 1859. They work with young people, particularly those who are poor and marginalized, through education, evangelization, and charity works.