The human struggle shared in faith

This past week, our 10am English mass community went on our final pilgrimage for 2025.  One could say it was a great success.  I will say even more as I found it to be a most fruitful and rewarding time, shared in prayer and encounter.  What made it so? 

Our destination was Immaculate Conception church in Sam Sen, a neighbourhood in central Bangkok. We chose there as it is one of the four designated churches, within the archdiocese, for pilgrimage during the Holy Year.  Going there you can see why this choice was made.  

Its history is just fascinating.  Even before Bangkok was ever conceived, King Narai, in 1674, gave this land to a recent arrival, in the Kingdom of Siam, Bishop Laneau.  The land was to be used for a church, the first ever church in Bangkok.  So the history dates back to the very beginning of the local church.  

Today, this is a most Catholic neighbourhood in the midst of Buddhist Bangkok.  This is due to the various comings, over time, of Portuguese, Cambodian and Vietnamese, Catholic communities. 

With the Portuguese came their statue of Mary, which local Thai Catholics have affectionately nicknamed - Kanom Jeen (a Thai noodle).  The Portuguese had originally fled the Dutch in Indonesia, where they had carved this statue of Mary.  They took it with them on their journeys in faith.  First, they fled to Cambodia, later moving from there, with local, Cambodian Catholics to Bangkok, settling at Immaculate Conception parish.  This statue now holds pride of place in the parish, being the centre of local devotion.

It can then be seen that the history of Immaculate Conception poignantly reflects the human and spritual themes of journey, diversity and struggle.  These are all themes that touch upon our lives and community.  So it is a church rich in meaning, speaking to our pilgrimage.  

Much more, ours is an everyday pilgrimage, where we face the human struggle, together in faith.  Such a pilgrimage is a human quest undertaken in human solidarity, together with our one loving God, who is our constant companion.  In this context, our pilgrimage to Immaculae Conception came to be experienced as a purposeful encounter with each other and with God, a vital time and opportunity for enriching life.  .