Pope Francis has named Father Pierre Suon Hangly, 50, as the prefect apostolic of Kompong-Cham, Cambodia (map).

Akin to an embryonic diocese and typically led by a priest, an apostolic prefecture is a Church jurisdiction in missionary territory.

Father Hangly is the first native-born Cambodian priest to lead a Cambodian ecclesiastical jurisdiction since the genocidal rule of Communist leader Pol Pot. The appointment is thus “an important step for Cambodia’s Catholic community, which began its rebirth 20 years [ago] and now can count on 20,000 members in a country of 16 million,” according to AsiaNews.