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Pope Francis heads to Thailand for Catholic masses and meeting with King Maha Vajiralongkorn
- Tens of thousands of Catholics are expected to gather in Thailand to see the Pope, including those from China, India, Vietnam and the Philippines
- New papal robes and two new popemobiles have been prepared for the four-day visit
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When Pope Francis visits Thailand this week, hospital employee Nukul Choikrua, 55, will be able to relive the excitement of an earlier papal visit to the country.
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In 1984, Choikrua was present when Pope John Paul II made a stop at St Louis Hospital in Bangkok.
“He arrived in the evening. I was standing five metres away from him. I didn’t get to touch him, but I was excited,” said Choikrua, who worked as a hospital mechanic at the time. “He went in to pray before coming out to give blessings to the children of the hospital staff. All the while, we cheered ‘Viva Papa!’”
Pope Francis will arrive in Thailand on Wednesday, becoming the second pontiff to visit the country. It will be his fourth trip to Asia after he visited South Korea in 2014, Sri Lanka and the Philippines the following year and Myanmar and Bangladesh in 2017. He will then visit Japan from November 23-26.
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His trip also commemorates the 350th anniversary of the establishment of the Apostolic Vicariate of Siam, which formally marked the beginning of the church in the country.
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