François Ponchaud, a member of the Missions Étrangères de Paris, passed away ont he 18th of january in France at the age of 85. The priest will forever remain a “privileged” witness to the Cambodia's history, and a man deeply and generously attached to his host country.
In 1975, he was among the last foreigners to depart the country, a departure that was influenced by the ideological shift he would later recount in "Cambodia: Year Zero," a book that became a point of reference for Pol Pot's regime.
In 1993, he returned to Cambodia and played a pivotal role in the rebirth of the Cambodian Church, largely due to his contributions in translating the Bible and catechisms into the local language.
A witness, a writer and a priest
Widely recognized as a firsthand observer of the Khmer Rouge's rise to power in 1975, which compelled him to seek exile, Ponchaud authored Cambodge année zéro (Cambodia: Year Zero), a seminal work that chronicles the tragic years that witnessed the mass extermination of up to 2.3 million Cambodians.
However, Fr. Ponchaud's contributions extend beyond his literary endeavors, as he was instrumental in the arduous rebirth of the martyred Church in Southeast Asia, where he returned in 1993 to resume his ministry.The apostolic vicar, Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler, delivered the news of his passing to the Cambodian Church.
The apostolic vicar characterized Ponchaud's life as one of unceasing dedication to serving the Lord and the People of God, particularly through his six decades of missionary work in Cambodia, beginning in 1965.
The prelate expressed profound gratitude for Ponchaud's contributions, particularly his translations of the Bible, the Council Vatican II and numerous official Catholic Church documents.
Ponchaud's birthplace, as reported by Ad Extra, a missionary platform established by the MÉP, was Sallanches in Haute-Savoie on November 8, 1939.Following his service in the French military as a paratrooper in Algeria for a period of 28 months, he joined the French missionary institute. His ordination as a priest took place in 1964, and the following year, he embarked on a voyage to Cambodia.
Following the initial years of his academic career, which were dedicated to the study of the Khmer language, he assumed a position with the apostolic prefecture of Kampong Cham.On April 17, 1975, the Khmer Rouge seized control of Phnom Penh, and he found himself detained in the French embassy. On May 8, he was among the last foreigners to depart from Cambodia.
Fr. Ponchaud monitored official speeches on the radio, decoding the objectives pursued by the revolution: the organization of the new society, the ideological education of the people, and the "creation of a new culture at the painful cost in terms of blood that everyone would later discover.
Despite his years of exile, he continued to visit Cambodian refugees in France, Europe, the United States, and Thailand, finally returning to Cambodia in 1993, following the Paris Peace Agreements (1991) and the end of the Vietnamese occupation, to resume his pastoral work.
From 2016 to 2021, prior to his return to France due to advanced age and health concerns, he relocated to a modest rural parish, where he engaged in spiritual and cultural activities.Noteworthy among his works is La cathédrale de la rizière , which chronicles the history of the Church in Cambodia.
In Cambodia, he established the Cambodian Catholic Cultural Centre, with the objective of imparting instruction in the Khmer language and culture to young missionaries and volunteers. This initiative was undertaken with the aim of enhancing the capacity of these individuals to better serve the Cambodian populace.
He was one of the few Westerners to speak out against Khmer Rouge abuses as soon as the capital was taken. He was invited to appear on numerous TV programs and in several documentaries, recounting his experience of the forced evacuation of Phnom Penh.
A mission
François Ponchaud was also a witness at the controversial trial of the Khmer Rouge leaders. He is the author of “Cambodge: Année zéro” (Cambodia: Year Zero), a book essentially made up of extracts from the personal diary he has kept since the fall of Phnom Penh, the Catholic priest delivering one of the first detailed accounts of what really happened under the Khmer Rouge regime of terror.
Journalist Dane Cuypers published her interviews with the priest in a book entitled “L'impertinent du Cambodge”, in which the man nicknamed “l'ami du Cambodge” expresses some bitterness about his mission:
“We imported a turnkey, Western-style Church model, and lost the opportunity to build a truly Khmer Church”.
Mr. Ponchaud confided that he has worked hard to integrate Buddhist traditions and thought in order to make the Christian message relevant and understandable to Cambodians. But he said few other missionaries shared his effort. For him, Catholicism in Cambodia today relies too heavily on its vast, well-funded charity network.
“We buy the poor. If we took away the financial generosity of the Church in Cambodia, the number of Christians would melt like snow in the sun”, he confided.
Although his account of 1975 was sometimes controversial, Father Francois Ponchaud will forever remain a “privileged” witness to the country's history, and a man deeply and generously attached to his host country.
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