History of English Catholic Parish
The presence of an English Catholic community before the Khmer Rouge is uncertain, but after the Pol Pot era, probably the first Catholic priest to return to minister in Cambodia was Maryknoll Fr. Tom Dunleavy who arrived in 1989. All foreigners then were required to live in the Monorom Hotel on Russian Boulevard and Fr. Dunleavy began celebrating mass in his hotel room for a few people, some Catholic and some from other Christian traditions.
When the restrictions were relaxed and Maryknoll set up its office, the weekly Sunday masses were moved there. The location of the office and the mass moved several times in the early 1990s. Eventually, as the number of people attending mass increased, the service was moved to a classroom at the International School of Phnom Penh on Norodom Boulevard.
In the next few years, Fr. Dunleavy was joined by Maryknoll Frs. Bill O’Leary, Jim Noonan, John Barth, and Bill Grimm; by the Saumweber family from the Maryknoll Lay Missioners; by Maryknoll Sisters Pat Ann Arathuzik, Dolores Congdon, Luise Ahrens, Joyce Quinn, Regina Pellicore, and Juana Encalada; and two Maryknoll Brothers, Mark Munoz and Heriberto Girardo.
Bishop Emile Destombes asked the Maryknoll community to be responsible for mass for the International Catholic Community because they were basically native English speakers and were planning a long-term presence. The early Maryknoll arrivals were later joined by many more Maryknoll Lay Missioners; and by Maryknoll Associate Priests Fr. Charles Dittmeier (2000) and Fr. Kevin Conroy (2006) and Maryknoll Fr. Ed McGovern (2005) and Fr. Bob Wynne (2007) who also became part of the pastoral team offering the masses with the international community. Jesuit Fr. Ashley Evans was also a regular presider. Fr. Dittmeier was put in charge of the English community in 2009 when Fr. Jim Noonan returned to the United States.
After outgrowing the school classroom, the English Catholic community next moved to the Russian Cultural Center to celebrate masses on Saturday evening, but after a few years there the community was asked to leave and moved to the fourth-floor auditorium of World Vision on Mao Tse Tung Boulevard.
In 2008, because of steadily increasing numbers, a second weekend liturgy was begun in the small chapel at St. Joseph Church, on Sunday mornings. The first Sunday there were thirty-two people present but soon the numbers increased and the liturgy was moved to the C Building at the rear of the property. That hall was renovated and air-conditioned but itself became too small. Planning started to set up a second mass on Sunday until a new church could be built at that campus, but those plans were all disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Throughout all this time, as one of the language groups associated with St. Joseph Church, the English Catholic community provided Catholic liturgy for the English community, celebrated the various sacraments with them, and also offered religious education for the youth. It also has a very active St. Vincent de Paul Society. The community has a Facebook page, publishes an e-mail newsletter every week, and distributes a paper bulletin at the weekend masses.
In June, 2020 there are about 700-900 people, from more than fifty countries, associated with the English Catholic community. The largest single group is from the Philippines. A number of the community are Christian but not Catholic.
The Welcoming Statement of the English Catholic Community:
ALL ARE WELCOME
No matter what your personal history, age, background, race, sexual
orientation, nationality, etc.,
No matter what your present status in the Catholic Church,
No matter what your own self image,
You are invited, welcomed, accepted, loved, and respected here.