Catholic Church in Thailand

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The Catholic Church in Thailand is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome.

As of 2003 there are 278,000 Catholics in Thailand, which make up 0.44% of the total population.

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[edit] History

The Catholic church first made contact with Siam in the 16th century, however no clear documents exist about it. According to one story the Portuguese António de Paiva visited the court of Ayutthaya in 1544 and converted the King to the Catholic faith, and baptized under the Portuguese name Dom João. However, there is no proof of the validity of this story.

The first resident missionaries arrived in 1567. Friar Jerónimo da Cruz and Sebastião do Canto of the Dominican order stayed in Ayutthaya for two years, but were then killed by Burmese troops attacking the city. 1582 to 1767 Franciscan missionaries were in the country, but about their missionary work nothing is known. Since 1607 Jesuits were present as well.

Between May 10-11 1984 Thailand was visited by Pope John Paul II, the first ever visit of a Pope to Thailand.

On October 22, 1989, the Martyrs of Thailand were beatified. The catechist Philip Siphong Onphitak and six companions were killed in 1940 under the suspicion of being French spies.