Finally on Saturday 17th December 2022 our first Catholic chapel has been inaugarated. The mass of inauguration was presided by Mgr. Joseph Pibul Visitnonthachai, bishop of Nakhonsawan diocese. A good number of Catholics coming from neighbouring parishes and dioceses were present at the event including quite number of donors. As it marks the first official presence of Catholic church in Umphang district, local authorities were among the attandees. They gave speech of support and encouragement and called for unity of all religious entitites in the town.
The construction took 6 months before its completion. It has been built thanks to the generous contributions of many Catholic faithful across the country. The whole project was conducted as diocesain project supervised and led by Father Reynaldo Fulgentio Tardelly. Its creative craft should be credited to Mr. Paco Garcia Moro, a Spanish architect which spent several months for design work. All engineering and carpentry work must be credited to Mr. Reen Suli and Mr. Kayin and Mr. Ben Lopadon. Thanks to their professional work, this Catholic chapel deserves to be among the most beautiful wooden religious craft ever found in Thailand.
The architectural work of the chapel seems unique because it tries to combine on one hand the local architectural tradition of Karen and Thai people - sharing their particular identity and history in the same land- and modern craft in the other hand. The combination is not without purpose. It aims at communnicating the spiritual experience of our Catholics and their devotion to Saint Francis Xavier, the saint patron. An itineerant missionary figure, once found that his cross falling into the sea on his way to Molucas island (now Indonesia) and the following day found that the same crossed brought back by a big crab. Living in uncertainty never spares us from the grace of God. Saint Francis's life was full uncertainties and dangers at that time. The same experience was also lived by our Catholics, mostly are migrants and stateless as they have been living along Thai-Myanamar borders for years and decades. This then explains why the two unique roofs seen rising up while holding a cross reminds us of the crab holding Saint Francis's cross. Our small Catholic community may be like a presence of small crab within the vast oceans of believes, cultures and religions across the continent. Nevertheless, the faith our faithfuls share and live may contribute to the work of evangelization, the work of ongoing dialogue with religions and cultures. And so we make the crucified Jesus more known to the rest of the world.
(Father Reynaldo)
