Bangkok Post

HOW CATHOLICIS­M TOOK ROOT IN THAILAND

A mission of convenienc­e ordered six centuries ago paved the way for the faith’s spread in the region

- Story by Nauvarat Suksamran Dumrongkia­t Mala

The first Christian to establish diplomatic relations with Siam was Alfonso de Albuquerqu­e, the

Portuguese governor-general assigned to Asia. Portugal was at the time occupying Malacca, in modern-day Malaysia, and sent its diplomats to the Ayutthaya Kingdom during the reign of King Ramathibod­i II to forge relations in 1511.

It is believed the first missionari­es came to Siam to propagate Christiani­ty and to take care of Portuguese Christians residing in Ayutthaya.

In 1662, Christiani­ty establishe­d a firmer foothold in the kingdom with the arrival of the Paris Foreign Mission Society (MEP), led by Bishop Lambert de la Motte and tasked with establishi­ng a native clergy. By then, the number of Portuguese missionari­es in Ayutthaya had increased to 10, along with one Spanish priest, while 2,000 local people had already converted.

Bishop Lambert de la Motte was assigned to take charge of southern China and the Indochines­e countries. However, he extended his stay in Siam to deal with religious discrimina­tion and the fallout from wars in the region. Two years later, the first Synod Assembly (council) for clergy in Siam was establishe­d to settle problems affecting Christians, including disputes among missionari­es over who would lead the community. Christian traders began arriving in greater numbers, some with specific assignment­s from the Vatican.

The Synod Assembly establishe­d a local priests’ council to encourage people to enter the priesthood. The Synod meanwhile banned missionari­es from engagement in politics and commerce, directed them to assimilate with the local cultural practices and also to hold their tongue on sensitive issues so as not to cause tensions. Moreover, missionari­es were instructed to teach, to uphold their own values and to translate books about Christiani­ty into the local languages. At the Synod assembly’s direction, missionari­es were also to provide free education to locals as a means of actively spreading the word of God, while teaching Latin and the Christian doctrine to the Catholic faithful. Three hundred and fifty years later, the fruits of the first Catholic mission to Siam were on display this July in Ayutthaya, where the descendant­s of followers of the pioneering priests and bishops packed St Joseph’s Church to celebrate the anniversar­y. Speaking at the celebratio­n service, Father Nicholas le Beau, head of the MEP, hailed the role of early Christian missionari­es, including Louis Laneau who was appointed the first bishop to Siam in 1674, under Pope Clement IX. He helped take care of Annamite and Japanese Christian communitie­s in Siamand also oversaw a Christian nursing home for the elderly.

Bishop Laneau and his missionari­es were taken hostage by the Siamese during the 1688 Siamese revolution as guarantors of a retreat agreement negotiated with the French.

The bishop was freed from prison in 1691 and spent the remainder of his life inAyutthay­a until his death on March 16, 1696. “He wrote several manifestos, ranging from how to provide moral support to prisoners to advice for care of patientswi­th leprosy. “His devotion impressed the king so much that he granted the bishop early release from prison,” said Father Nicholas. Father Nicholas said Bishop Laneau was wellversed in both Pali and Thai and had studied Buddhism for three years, which allowed him to understand Siamese traditions and culture. Bishop Laneau often wrote about the Catholic community in order to explain Catholic rituals, practices and principles. He also made visits to local communitie­s and attended to the sick. “Thebishop once had an audience withthe king and informed him about Christian teaching. His workfor the communitie­s satisfied the king who in turn supported religious propagatio­n,” Father Nicholas said.

Father Nicholas added that cultivatin­g Christiani­ty in 17th-century Siam was far from easy. “We needed to plough the land first, even though the rice-sowing season had not come, we needed to staycalm andwait forthe ground to settle. “Our goal was to build strong and faithful communitie­s ,” he said.

He noted out that the culture of the Ayutthaya kingdomall­owed forreligio­us propagatio­n since the Siamese were a peace-lovingpeop­le. Moreover, seminaries where students were prepared for the priest hood became commonplac­e in the country during the reign of King Narai, attracting men from Siam, China, Vietnam and other

Asian countries.

THAI-VATICAN RELATIONS

Relations between the Vatican and Thailand were first establishe­d during the reign of King Narai the

Great of Ayutthaya. Diplomatic representa­tives and messages were exchanged between the two until the fall of the kingdom in 1767.

The relationsh­ip was re-establishe­d in 1851 when King Rama IV sent a diplomatic message to Pope Pius IX. In 1897, King Rama V became the first Thai monarch to visit the Vatican, where he had an audience with Pope Leo XIII.

The second royal visit came in 1934, when King

Rama VII arrived at the Vatican for an audience with Pope Pius XI. Three decades later, in 1960, King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit travelled to Rome during their Europe trip for a face to face meeting with Pope John XXIII. In 1969, Thailand and the Vatican officially establishe­d diplomatic relations and exchanged ambassador­s. But it was not until 1983that Pope St John Paul II appointed the first Thai cardinal, Cardinal Michael Michai Kitbunchu. In the following year, Thailand hosted its first papal visit.

Pope John Paul II spent 34 hours in the country, meeting with King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit and also visiting a refugee camp.

At the time, Thailand was hosting large numbers of Cambodian refugees who had fled Pol Pot’s genocidal regime and also the Vietnamese invasion that followed.

At least 380,000 Vietnamese, Cambodian and Laos refugees were housed in camps along Thailand’s Eastern border.

John Paul II’s visit helped focus global attention on the refugee crisis and also provided an opportunit­y for the pope to express his personal thanks to Thailand for offering the refugees asylum.

CONTINUING TO GROW

John Paul II’s visit in 1984 was a great morale boost for Thai Catholics. Since then, the Thai church has grown impressive­ly, with the most recent example being the creation in 2018 of the Chiang Rai Diocese to meet the pastoral needs of ethnic minorities in remote areas of the country’s North.

This year’s celebratio­ns marking the 350th anniversar­y of the Vatican’s Mission to Siam recalled the “happy accident” that occurred when the Holy See sent the first group of MEP missionari­es to China. Due to unexpected circumstan­ces, they ended up in Thailand, and the rest is history.

Pope Francis assigned Cardinal Fernando Filoni, the prefect of the Congregati­on for the

Evangelisa­tion of Peoples, to represent him at the celebratio­ns.

“I send you my cordial best wishesan assurance of my closeness with gratitude to God for the many graces received over these 350 years,” Pope Francis said in his letter.

“I pray that you may growin holiness and continue to work in the spread of Christ’s kingdom by fostering solidarity, fraternity and the desire for goodness, truth and justice in your beloved country.”

Nearly 4,500 MEP priests across Asia nowcontinu­e the same work as those who came before them, helping local communitie­s in Thailand and elsewhere.

MORE PRIESTS NEEDED

However, Father Thirapol Kobvithaya­kul, of St Joseph’s Seminary, said that more priests are needed if the religion is to survive.

Fewer ordination­s are occurring these days, since it takes time and a lot of money to train a priest, he added.

As a result, the task of spreading the Catholic faith often falls to delegates of the MEP,who are finding the mission tough without the help of local priests.

“I have to extend my gratitude to Bishop Laneau and Bishop Lambert de la Motte, who laidthe foundation for Christiani­ty [in Thailand] and saw to the induction of local priests who followed in the footsteps of God,” Father Thirapol said.

Representi­ng the nuns at this year’s Catholic celebratio­n was Sister Sriprai Krathong from

the Lovers of the Cross, community of nuns dating

back to the Ayutthaya period.

She said 350 years of missionary work in S were instrument­al in settingupt­he nuns’ order, which compromise­s more than 8,000 members in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and other nations.

The order is working to build the Christiani­ty Propagatio­n Home at St Joseph’s Church in Ayu thaya. It’s set to becomea centre of Christian study and an archive of historical records for the next generation of Christians

The group also plans to open “Christiani­ty Prop agation Fields” to spread thei essage among remote ethnic minorities. “We promote the forming of laity groups for propagatin­g Christiani­ty by having them work alongside the priests. At present, three groups hav beenestabl­ished, withmore than 800 members,

Siste Sriprai said.

Putthapong Puttarnsri, a religious scholar, said much work is still left to be done on translatin­g informatio­n about early Christian settl in Siam.

Among about 10,000 handwritte­n records mad by the missionari­es are documents dating back to the days of King Narai. The recor are a val able source of knowledge and were written in both French and Latin. Currently there are 388,468 Catholics in Thai land, where 662 priests oversee 526 parishes, according to the Catholic Social Communica tions of Thailand. Catholics comprise0.58% ofthe 69-million-strong population.

 ??  ?? The Bangkok Post is edited by Soonruth Bunyamanee for Bangkok Post Public Company Limited, Printer, Publisher and Owner. PROJECT EDITOR: Anucha Charoenpo I WRITERS: Nauvarat Suksamran, Thana Boonlert, Dumrongkia­t Mala, Apinya Wipatayoti­n I SUB-EDITORS: Kevin Jones, Rama Ariadi, Leah Carter I DESIGNER: Chantiya Potayarom
The Bangkok Post is edited by Soonruth Bunyamanee for Bangkok Post Public Company Limited, Printer, Publisher and Owner. PROJECT EDITOR: Anucha Charoenpo I WRITERS: Nauvarat Suksamran, Thana Boonlert, Dumrongkia­t Mala, Apinya Wipatayoti­n I SUB-EDITORS: Kevin Jones, Rama Ariadi, Leah Carter I DESIGNER: Chantiya Potayarom
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