Pope Francis creates new Diocese of Mindat in Myanmar

Pope Francis has approved the erection of the new Diocese of Mindat in Myanmar, carving out from the ecclesiastical territory of the Diocese of Hakha.

The Holy Father appointed the Reverend Augustine Thang Zawm Ghung, a priest from Hakha, as its first bishop.

The announcement was made public through the Vatican’s daily bulletin on January 25.  

The new diocese, located in the southern part of the Chin state, will be a suffragan of the metropolitan archdiocese of Mandala. It also includes the division of Magwem.

According to the 2023 statistical data provided by the Apostolic Nunciature in Myanmar, the Diocese of Mindat has a total area of 17,156 square kilometers, with 23 parishes, 48 diocesan priests, three religious congregations, and eight religious communities.

It is home to 358,866 citizens, with 14,394 identifying as Catholics.

Its first prelate, Bishop-Elect Hung, has been serving as parish vicar of the Most Sacred Heart Parish in Mindat, which has been to be the diocese’s official see.

He was also serving as the head of translation of the Bible into local languages at the time of his appointment.

Bishop-Elect Hung was born on December 4, 1973 in Mindat. He studied philosophy at the major seminary of Pyin Oo Lwin, and theology at Saint Joseph’s Catholic Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Yangon.

He was ordained a priest on November 17, 2002.

The bishop-elect also obtained a licentiate in sacred scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome from 2005 to 2009 and a doctorate in sacred scripture from the Universität Innsbruck in Austria from 2018 to 2022.

He also served as the secretary of the Diocese of Kalay (2009-2010) and secretary of the Diocese of Hakha (2010-2012).