My search for Catholic churches in Thailand continues. After checking out the Bangkok Cathedral and the Holy Rosary Church, my sight was next aimed to a church located near the Surasak Station of the Skytrain. This church is the St. Louis Church.
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| (Source: St. Louis Church website) |
My intention in going to St. Louis Church was to pray and then take some photos. So, I packed my camera and rode the BTS (or Skytrain) to reach this church.
I wondered who is this St. Louis and why the church was named in his honor. According to Catholic Online, St. Louis is the only canonized king of France. He had fought in the crusade and died during a siege of Tunis.
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| Saint Louis King of France. |
The naming of St. Louis Church showed that this church was built or managed by French missionaries in the past. The name is the hint of that French connection.
I discovered that St. Louis Church is within the compound where various institutions are located like the St. Louis Suksa School, St. Louis Commercial School and the St. Louis Hospital. Of all the institutions located within the compound (other than the church of course), what delighted me the most is this:
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I was glad to reach the office of the Papal Nuncio to Thailand. A nunciature is a sort of an embassy of the Holy See to other countries and the Nuncio is the Pope's representative. The presence of a nunciature in Thailand means that the Thai government is in good relationship with the Church.
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Too bad that I haven't met the Papal Nuncio.
Unfortunately, St. Louis Church is closed during that time. I didn't got the chance to pray at least one “Hail Mary!” :-(
I am getting used to the situation of churches here in Thailand. Most of the time they are closed. I sorely miss the churches in the Philippines where I can just enter any time I want to pray.
I just decided to walk around the church to look for an opening. I found none. Though I discovered, to my delight, the tarpaulin that contain the life story of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz and Saint Pedro Calungsod.
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I exclaimed, "Never thought to see you here in Bangkok Pedro and Lorenzo!"
The presence of the guards made me hesitant to take photos of St. Louis Church. What I just took is the side view of the church.
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And the supposed front view of St. Louis Church.
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FAIL!
Since I couldn't enter St. Louis Church, I just decided to go to the Holy Rosary Church because I know that it is open during the day.
I'm still hoping to visit St. Louis Church before I go back to the Philippines. I saw the photos of its interior and it is beautiful also. This image from the website of St. Louis Church is the proof.
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| (Source: St. Louis Church website) |
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Was there a time that you wanted to enter a church so badly but became frustrated because it was closed? Tell me your experiences by leaving a comment in the comment box below. Thank you for the visit!
sayang naman... pero base dun sa last pic.. mukang maganda talaga yung loob ng church
ReplyDeleteMaganda nga ang loob ng St. Louis Church. Sayang talaga at hindi ako nakapasok Blue.
DeleteMay guard? bakit?
ReplyDeleteoo nga no.. unlike sa mga simbahan natin dito always open kahit anong araw
Sa tingin ko may guard kasi katabi ng simbahan yung school at yung opisina ng Papal Nuncio.
DeleteAnyway Ish.. belated "Saint Valentines Day"... gaya nga ng sabi mo sa FB hehe
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Blue. May St. Valentine pray for you.
DeleteI think your blog will be the only blog in the world to feature churches in Thailand : )
ReplyDeleteHmmm...maybe you are right Foong. :-)
DeleteOh! Most of the churches here are closed during the day?
ReplyDeleteYeah, most of them Foong. One reason is that there are few Catholics in Thailand so no people will enter the church in some hours of the day.
DeleteToo bad you could not take more photos of the church.
ReplyDeleteYeah Foong. Too bad. :-(
DeleteOoooo...another beautiful church. So far all that I've been to would be open - usually, a side door is open for faithfuls to go in and pray.
ReplyDeleteThe churches that you went to is better than many of the churches here in Thailand, STP. Most of the churches here are closed when there is no Holy Mass.
DeleteWow at least na-experience mong mabisita ng personal ang St. Louis church sa Bangkok kahit hindi ka nakapag take ng good shots *nudges the guards* :D
ReplyDeleteYun nga Fiel. Naalangan kasi ako dun sa gwardiya. Baka sitahin ako.
Deletefrom the exterior to interior ganda nung church
ReplyDeletewant ko ung design nya simple pero maganda
anyways nagulat din ako sa tarpoline ahh
Yeah, simple nga itong simbaha na ito MeCoy. At nakakagulat nga yung tarp kasi hanggang sa Thailand pala ay kilala sina San Pedro Calungsod at San Lorenzo Ruiz.
Deletemarami din palang catholics sa thailand, tapos me papal nuncio pa. baka kaya me closing time yung simbahan for proper management ng lugar. pwede namang magpray kahit wala sa simbahan.
ReplyDeleteMarami-rami rin kaming Catholics dito sa Thailand. Ang nagpaparami pa ng bilang ng Katoliko dito ay yung mga expat na Pinoys.
DeleteI agree na pwede namang magdasal sa labas ng simbahan, Phioxee. Pero iba pa rin ang manalangin sa loob ng simbahan dahil nandoon ang tabernacle.
Interesting to see Catholic churches in Thailand. Our religious viewpoints are probably on opposite sides of the spectrum, but I appreciate churches for their cultural and architectural aspects.
ReplyDeleteUnsugarcoated Reviews
DeleteI am glad that you appreciate our churches. :-)
Interesting that Fr. Louis (Thomas Merton), famous Trappist monk and author, said mass here 2 days before his surprise passing, in the mist of a schedule of meetings of Catholic and Buddhist monks.
ReplyDelete