By the late 1990s, it has been estimated that there are more than 140 Tibetan Buddhist meditation centers in France. The first Tibetan Buddhist communities in France were established in the early 1970s. The highest-ranking head of schools to reside in France, Phendé Khenchen, established his temple of E Wam Phendé Ling in 1973. He is of the Ngor school of Buddhism. Buddhism in France's growth was catalyzed by visits, in 1975 of the Karmapa, head of the Kagyü school, Dudjom Rinpoche and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, also very high lamas, who visited Dordogne, where they established retreat centers with the help of Pema Wangyal Rinpoche, the son of Kangyur Rinpoche, another high lama who was among the first to take western disciples. Dudjom Rinpoche later moved to France, where he died.