Missionary Presence in Thailand

By Fr. Thiago, Xaverian Missionary in Thailand

It is a great joy for us to share with you something about our missionary presence in Thailand: our impressions on our first steps in this new mission for our Congregation. At present, our community is formed by four Xaverians: Fr. Matia, Fr. Thierry, Fr. Alessandro and Fr. Thiago. The first two arrived here in January 2012 and the other two joined them in December of the same year. This first period is a time for us, as for every missionary, to study the language, to get acquainted with the culture, and specially to meet and to relate with the people to whom we were sent. We are trying to do this by listening to priests, religious and lay people who have been working here for many years and also by establishing daily relationships with people around us.

For the moment, we are living in a city called Nonthaburi in the province of Bangkok. The house where we are living is located in the territory of the parish of the Pime Fathers. The parish is well organized with many pastoral and social activities. We collaborate with them by celebrating an English Mass every Sunday for the English community and also by attending the initiatives of the parish. The Xaverian Sisters, who have two communities in Thailand – one in the diocese of Chiang Mai and the other in the diocese of Bangkok, are working in this same parish. We join them for the work in the slums and in other activities. The presence of the Pime Fathers and the Xaverians Sisters has been a great help for us at the beginning of our work in Thailand .

Even though we are living in Nonthaburi, our missionary work is going to start in the diocese of Nakhon Sawan which is situated in the Northern part of Thailand. We have already had the possibility to visit this diocese a few times. Fr. Thierry and Fr. Matia even spent a whole month there in order to know better the local Church and the possible fields for our missionary work. Among the many fields present in the diocese of Nakhon Sawan we point out: first evangelization, pastoral care of the migrants, ministry with ethnic groups, pastoral care in the villages, inter-religious dialogue and formation of the Christian communities.

While we are still reflecting and discerning about the place and the field which better correspond to our charism and strength, we thank the Lord for giving us and to our Congregation this opportunity to go back to the heart of our charism: the proclamation of Jesus´ Good News which unites us in one big family.

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