Pope makes Thai a cardinal
Thailand’s Archbishop Michael Meechai Kitbunchu was elevated to become the first Thai cardinal by Pope John Paul II at the Consistory Hall in the Apostolic Palace.
Aside from Michael Meechai, 17 others were made cardinals at the investiture. Thailand’s first cardinal, Michael Meechai, 52, was born in Sam Phran, Nakhon Pathom. He was ordained as a priest in 1959, appointed bishop of Bangkok on March 25, 1973 and consecrated Archbishop on June 3, 1973.