Pope Francis visits Thailand, his compassion, humility wins over many Thais

Pope Francis arrived in Bangkok on November 20 on a three-day tour and was greeted by a sea of devout Catholics awaiting the first apostolic visit in almost four decades.

The apostolic visit to Thailand was part of mission to boost the morale of the country’s small Catholic minority. The pope used the occasion to raise concerns about human trafficking and peace-making efforts in Thailand.

The last pope to visit Thailand was Pope John Paul II, who visited the country over four decades ago in 1984. Thailand is home to a 388,000-strong Catholic community and makes up less than 1% of the population. Most live in the North and Central regions.

Father Joseph Anucha Chaiyadej, director of the Catholic Social Communications of Thailand, said Pope Francis’s down-to-earth personality and his sermons on peace, love and mercy caught everybody’s attention, even those who are not Christian.

‘He is the kind of down-to-earth person who is very approachable. He even obliged when passers-by asked for his blessings or to take a selfie,’ he said.

Father Anucha said people should learn from His Holiness’s life of simplicity, his love of mankind and his way of patiently making people understand the value of faith. ‘During his limited time in Thailand, Pope Francis did a lot of work and visited as many places as he could. It’s amazing that an 83-year-old man could have such strength in bolstering people’s faith in God,’ he said.