It
is always a bit surprising to learn that Bangkok has had an important
Catholic community since its foundation.
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| Santa Cruz Church |
After
settling in Malacca, the Portuguese arrived on the Chao Phraya River
in the 16th
century. They managed to get in touch with the king and even be
allowed to host a small Portuguese village in the former capital of
Ayutthaya. But when the royal capital fell under the attack of the
Burmese, a former general, who became King Thaksin moved down the
Chao Phraya and made Thonburi the new capital.
Consequently,
the Portuguese community moved to Thonburi and started to build a
church there. It became Santa Cruz Church, the oldest church in
Bangkok. The present building is the 3rd
version of the original church.
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| Church nave |
Strangely, most of its priests were
French as the French community grew more important after the
Portuguese.
Here
is the story of the church copied from a brochure provided by the
community :
« Santa
Cruz Church is a Catholic church of the Archidiocese of Bangkok,
which dates back to 1769 A.D. When King Thaksin established the new
capital in Thonburi. Fr. Jacques Corre, a French Catholic priest,
then brought back from Cambodia's border all the Catholics of thw
former Ayutthaya Era, and settled them in a Catholic village at the
present site. During that time King Thaksin visited and finally gave
the Catholics the right of accession to the land of their village on
September 14th,
the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Fr. Corre, therefore, named the
village 'Santa Cruz', which means 'the Holy Cross', and on May 25,
1770, the following year, built a humble wooden church in the
village. In 1794, Bishop Antoine Garnault built a seminary and began
the first printing press of Thailand in Santa Cruz. (The printing
press moved to Assumption Cathedral later in 1801.) The first church
lasted for 65 years.
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| Church village |
In
1835, the style of this church was rather Chinese, and so was
Pallegoix, who became a close friend of King Phrajomklao (King Rama
IV), and he became a Bishop too.
In
1906, Bishop Jean-Louis Vey invited the Saint-Paul-de-Chartres
Sisters to establish the Santa Cruz Convent School in the village.
The second church served for another 81 years until Father Guillaume
Kin Da Cruz ('Guillialmo') built the present third church to open on
September 17, 1916, followed by the Presbyterium six years later. Fr.
Anselm Sagiem Ruamsamu opened the Santa Cruz Suksa School.
In
1954, Santa Cruz has been a sign of unity and fraternity between the
Thai and Portuguese people since the Ayutthaya Era, and lives happily
and peacefully with Buddhists and Muslims nearby also. Contributing
to the education and moral formation of young Thais for so long, it
is our hope that Santa Cruz will continue to be, even more so in the
future, a sign of unity and fraternity. There are some delicious
Portuguese cakes, still baked with old Portuguese flavor, waiting for
you in the village. »
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| Inside the coffeeshop |
Portuguese
bakery shop nearby.
In
the maze of the narrow alleys near the church, there is a gorgeous
old, little bakery and coffeeshop that continues baking Portuguese
biscuits. After visiting the church and wandering through this small
community village, I sat at this little café to taste homemade
pastries with a hot cup of coffee. The greeting was warm and
friendly. They were quite busy selling to a group of Asian visitors,
who came to visit the church and its community.
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| Portuguese bakery |
Christian Sorand
Links :
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| Area map |
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| Coffeeshop garden |
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| Frangipani |
