Former Missionary In Cambodia Elected Paris Foreign Missions Chief

July 23, 2022242 views0

Former Missionary In Cambodia Elected Paris Foreign Missions Chief

2022-07-23T11:28:28+01:00

By Church News

Reverend Father Vincent Sénéchal, 50, a former missionary in Cambodia, has been elected Superior-General of the France-based Paris Foreign Missions (MEP) for the next six years.Father Sénéchal was elected to lead the group of missionary priests and volunteers on July 18 by delegates of its General Assembly in Paris. While the General Assembly takes place every six years, representatives of all MEP groups in Asia and the Indian Ocean have been attending the General Assembly since July 11.The priest served as a missionary in Cambodia for nine years until 2016; during the nine years in the Southeast Asian country, he served in various roles such as a parish priest, teacher at a seminary and for the formation of lay people, general secretary, and chancellor of the Apostolic Vicariate of Phnom Penh.Reverend Father Vincent Sénéchal holds a doctorate in biblical theology, was also the Catholic representative in the Bible Society of Cambodia and a member of the committee for the translation of the Roman Missal into Khmer.During this period, he was also a visiting professor at St. Peter’s Pontifical Seminary in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru.The delegates also elected Reverend Father Étienne Frécon their vicar-general, who was a missionary in Singapore and Taiwan.The 33-year-old new MEP (Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris) vicar-general went to Singapore following his priestly ordination in 2011.In order to serve the Chinese community in Singapore, he was sent to Taiwan to learn Mandarin. However, he extended his three-year stay to deepen his knowledge of the Chinese language and culture through pastoral experience.He served as parish priest of Zhonghe in south Taipei for three years. He also served as Rector of the Taiwan Major Seminary in 2019.He joined the MEP missionary group in Taiwan.He was also in charge of the office for the clergy for the Taiwan Bishops’ Conference, in particular for the continued formation of priests as well as for vocation promotion.Since August 2019, he has also been in charge of the permanent formation team of the MEP.ALSO READ Dr Anthony E. Clark Talks On Catholicism And The Church In China