Vic Payuyo, CM sends word that he has opened a new site for the CM in Thailand. VINCENTIANS IN THAILAND. . . .
The Vincentians working in Thailand decided to publish this website to introduce the Congregation of the Mission to our people here in the Land of Smile. Secondly, we also hope that members of the Vincentian Family worldwide will get an idea of what the Congregation of the Mission is doing here in Thailand, often thought of as a Buddhist country. Indeed it is! However, Catholics in Thailand have been here for many years. Thanks to the works of the early missionaries!
Thailand, from North to South, is composed of 10 dioceses. Where you find catholics, you can certainly say that missionaries have been there. Even in far-flung villages and mountainous areas, you will meet locals who are very christian and catholic in their practices. An example of this is Chiang-Rai where several of our own CM seminarians come from. Because the village is so far from the “peopled” areas, and priests could hardly reach them without first trekking the mountainous area for hours, it is very consoling to find out that the villagers have kept to their christian faith, and even gathering for ‘common prayers’ led by their elders.
In Nakhon Phatom, where we have our own St. Vincent Seminary of Thailand, visitors would be surprised to see that even the streets have names like ‘St. Peter’ (Soi St. Peter #). This is the area where one would meet a lot of catholics and religious communities. This is also where Lux Mundi Seminary or Saengtham College is located. It is the Major Seminary of Thailand. There are at present 144 seminarians studying for the priesthood. All attend Saengtham College right within the compound. Other religious communities, like the Redemptorists, the Jesuits, Capuchins, Carmelites, OMI, La Salle, Salesians, Stigmatines, Betharam, and beginning this year the VINCENTIANS, all have their houses of formation in the area. As you will soon see, we, Catholics, may not be the majority, but we definitely ARE PRESENT in this country.
One will also find branches of the FAMVIN in Thailand. Since over a year ago, we have organized, re-organized, and formalized some of the branches of the FAMVIN here. At present, we have the SSVP, AIC, AMM, the DC, and CM as the active groups of the family. We have not established at the moment the Marian Youth. However, our seminarians are working on it. However, they do find one difficulty. Most of the members of the Marian Group are not that young anymore. They meet regularly though and do regular house visitations.
The confreres are involved with FAMVIN. Fr. Benny is with the AIC, Fr. Danny is the Director of the DC, Fr. Uthai is with the SSVP, Fr. Monching is, beginning last July, with the AMM, and Fr. Vic coordinates with Sr. Francisca, DC, the Vincentian Family Coordinating Committee. (VFCC) Like last year, the Famvin had a common celebration for the Feast of St. Vincent. This year, we had our family celebration last September 25 in Lam Lukha, at the DC Provincial House. We do try to find a common day for our gatherings and meetings since most of our members are working following the Thai calendar. You know that Christmas is not a holiday here. It is a working day! I remember while studying Thai last year that I had to excuse myself from class so I could celebrate Christmas with the confreres in Khon Khaen. Dec. 25 is a regular working day here in Thailand.
Thailand is a very beautiful country. The culture is rich and unique. The locals are very nice people to work and be with. There is so much to be learned from their culture. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why missionaries are challenged when they come to work here. How can we learn from each other, cross the great-divide between a catholic culture and a Buddhist culture? We do get along very well though with the Buddhists and even with Buddhist monks (see the photos of Fr. Benny). There is great respect for each other’s beliefs.
Any religious community coming into Thailand will be better off defining what their objectives would be when finally they settle in. It is not just coming in to evangelize, as they would later find out. There is something more here where christians/or catholics can find their niche in. What that niche is, every group has to find out and discover for themselves.
There is so much more to say but I do not want to give them all to you now. It will be better if you come for a visit and take a virtual tour of Thailand as you surf the site. I have included some interesting links here regarding Thailand and even, if anyone is interested, to learn some Thai before you come. But most importantly, we want you to know, and we are proud of it, that the VINCENTIANS are working in Thailand. As all of us here say: “Life may not be like working back home in the Philippines, but we like it here and we we want to stay and continue working in the Land of Smiles.
