ICC NOTE: New doors have been opened for a church in Thailand to dedicate the birthplace of evangelism in Thailand according to Asia News. The church stands where a previous church and school was erected by French missionaries who received permission from the King of Siam in 1666. From there, the missionaries were able to evangelize and bring 1,500 people to Christ leading the beginning of evangelism within Thailand. It is a momentous occasion for Thai Christians but also for Christians in general as Thailand has had a checkered past regarding religious freedom. To see the construction of a church is always a blessing and a sign God continues to work even within those whose hearts are the hardest.
3/21/2016 Thailand (Asia News) – The life and example of Saint Joseph “show us the way to grow as fathers, whether family or spiritual fathers, in the path of justice, of goodness and virtue. And these are the paths for the growth of every human being “, said Card. Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanit, Archbishop of Bangkok, this morning as he opened the Holy Door in the church dedicated to Saint Joseph in Ayutthaya. The ceremony was rich in meaning, because this church is the cradle of the evangelization of Thailand.
This is the third Holy Door to be opened in the country, after those of Assumption Cathedral capital and in St. Peter’s in Nakhon Pathom. Also attending were the Bishop Emeritus, Msgr.Joseph Sangval Surasarang and more than 30 priests, diocesan and religious. Thousands of faithful also took part in the Mass.
Card. Kovithavanij invited those present to open their hearts to receive God’s mercy: “If we are touched by this mercy, we can change our hearts and bring His love to our brothers and sisters who want to meet Him. Catholics need a change of heart, a change of life. The opening of the Holy Door makes this change easier. Let us welcome and forgive and thus receive forgiveness”.
Ayutthaya is considered the “cradle” of the Thai Church, since it was here that three missionaries of the Paris Foreign Missions (MEP) in 1666 had permission from the King of Siam Narai the Great to build a church and a school. Bishop Lambert de la Motte, along with Fr. Jean De Bourges and Fr. Dédier, impressed the king so much that he gave them the land on which the ” Saint Joseph’s Field ” was built. Here they the first 1,500 Siamese were converted and the evangelization of the country began.Cardinal of Bangkok to the faithful: “The life and example of Saint Joseph show us the way to grow as fathers, whether family or spiritual fathers, in the path of justice, of goodness and virtue. And these are the paths for the growth of every human being “. Ayutthaya relaunches evangelization of Thailand.
