Pope Francis will visit Thailand on November 20-23
Pope Francis visits Thailand (neneo / Shutterstock.com)
Pope Francis confirms visit to Thailand from November 20 to 23; then he travels on to Japan, where he meets the emperor. It is the fourth trip to Asia; he previously visited the Philippines, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Pope Francis will be the second pope to visit Thailand, following Pope John Paul II in 2.
The pope will give two masses in Thailand: one for Thai Catholics and one for Thai youth. Given the expected number of visitors, they will probably be held in a stadium. The Pope also meets with the Supreme Patriarch.
The visit to Thailand coincides with the commemoration of the founding of the Mission de Siam 350 years ago by Pope Clement IX, who oversees Catholic missionary work in Thailand.
There are nearly 380.000 Catholics in Thailand, a figure representing 0,46% of Thailand's total population of 69 million. There are 11 dioceses with 436 parishes and 662 priests.
The first historical record of an attempt to introduce Christianity to Thailand is due to John Peter Maffei, who stated that about 1550 a French Franciscan named Bonferre, hearing about the great kingdom of the Peguans and the Siamese in the east, a Portuguese ship departed from Goa for Cosme (Peguan), where he preached the gospel for three years, but to no avail.
Read more about the development of the Catholic Church in Thailand at this link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_in_Thailand
Dear editor,
Is it already known in which city or cities the Pope will visit in Thailand. I would like to go there.
Thank you in advance.
Gr. Stephen
Because I have been living in Thailand for 16 years
I would also like to see the Pope here.
There will most likely be a report in the Bangkok Post.
As leader of the Church, Francis is a modern man with a great deal of understanding for today's society with regard to women's rights, abortion and homosexuality. He also allows the Church to be cleansed of pedophiles.
That is beautiful.
But I would like to end trying to convince or encourage people to be Catholic. Religions are coercive and one-sided and therefore harmful. We no longer need religion to support the meaning (or nonsense) of life.
Believers will reject your statement and unbelievers will naturally follow you. So what's the point of your statement then?
Roland, everyone is allowed to express their opinion. That is called freedom.