Sam Phran (Thailand). On 29 June 2025, in Sam Phran, at the “Ban Than Phraphorn” House Meeting Center of St. Mary Mazzarello Province (THA), an inter-sector meeting was organized and coordinated by Sister Lab Somchan of Formation and Sister Pornphirun Chandenduang of the Missions.
The meeting was attended by 38 Daughters of Mary Help of Christians representing their communities, including the Provincial, Sister Thong-yoo Kitsakul; 9 local Animators from the two Sectors; four Sisters Handmaids of the Immaculate Heart of Mary with two aspirants and a lay representative, in anticipation of a forthcoming FMA meeting with lay workers.
The day was marked by listening to the formative theme of Pope Francis’ encyclical Dilexit Nos, and by experiencing a pilgrimage to the prayer temples of Buddhist, Sikh, Islamic, and Catholic believers.
The meeting began with a prayer service presided by the Provincial, followed by a greeting from Sister Ruth del Pilar Mora, General Councilor of the Missions Sector who, through online mode, presented the contents of the Encyclical on the human and divine love of the Heart of Jesus Christ in a Salesian-missionary key.
The morning continued with a global presentation of some aspects of Dilexit Nos by the Redemptorist priest Pichan Jaiseri.
After the formative moment, the group lived the solemn Eucharistic Celebration in honor of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and then went on an interfaith pilgrimage, visiting 5 religious sites and meeting with their leaders: “Moschea Bang Luang” or “Kudi Khao”, Wat Kalayanamit Worawihan, Kian An Keng Sanctuary, Santa Cruz Church, and Wat Prayurawongsawas Worawihan.
The particularity of these religious sites is given by their historicity. The flows of local Buddhist, Portuguese Catholics, Chinese, Indian Sikhs, and Vietnamese groups have inhabited this common area in Bangkok, constituting national-cultural-linguistic neighborhoods. The inhabitants were able to cohabit, forming a unique Kudi China community, which has harmoniously fused the lifestyle of Buddhists, Christians, and Muslims with the different Thai and Chinese cultures already over 200 years ago, when the Portuguese-Thai community occupied this area in Bangkok.
The account of one of the participants:
The visit to these places lasted from morning to late afternoon, with a stop for lunch at a restaurant at the invitation of our Past Pupils of Narivooth School-Ban Pong, who live in this neighborhood and safeguard the Museum Treasure that we admired and appreciated, visiting it before leaving the room. The Past Pupils wanted to return the good received during their school attendance as our students.
The group of active parishioners from the Santa Cruz Church was a very welcome and useful guide for visiting these places. They welcomed us on arrival and at the entrance wearing the Portuguese costume.
To complete the lay presence, we also welcomed Ms. Pinthong Vongsakul and the team who helped in guiding us at the various places and with the photographic documentation of these meetings, together with Ms. Warinthorn Hema of the National Catholic Commission for Interreligious and Ecumenical Dialogue, and Ms. Nitayaporn Sengcharoen of the Social Communication team of the Province.
Everywhere we were welcomed willingly and with respect, not as tourists, but as pilgrims eager to express our fraternity, in tune with the knowledge of this same spirit presented by the religious guides of the individual Temples.
The stops took place according to the proposed timetable. However, the last one in the Prayurawongsawas Worawihan Pagoda, was interrupted by a strong thunderstorm which did not favor listening. At the end of the presentation, the Provincial thanked the young Bonzo (monk) and rewarded him with an offering and the gift of the three-volume biography, in the Thai language, of our Co-Founder, Saint Mary Domenica Mazzarello, as she did in the previous encounters of the day.
