Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Diocesi di Bangkok
Bangkok (Agenzia Fides) – Hundreds of young Thai Catholics gathered in downtown Bangkok to pray before the relics of Carlo Acutis, the first saint of the "Millennials," who, along with Pier Giorgio Frassati, will be canonized by Pope Leo XVI in St. Peter's Square on Sunday, September 7. Next to the relics were the symbols of World Youth Day, the cross and the icon of the Virgin Mary "Salus Populi Romani," which arrived in Bangkok on September 3. Stops are planned in all eleven dioceses of Thailand until October 19, before the relics are taken to Indonesia, where they will continue their "pilgrimage" across the Asian continent, finally arriving in South Korea, where the 49th World Youth Day will be celebrated in August 2027.
Archbishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpornrat, President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Thailand (CBCT) and Archbishop of Bangkok, led a prayer service in the square in front of the building housing the Bishops' Conference. The service began with the arrival of the procession carrying the relics of Carlo Acutis and the symbols of World Youth Day. Father Suwat Leungsa-ard, Deputy Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Thailand, then recalled the meaning of the symbols of World Youth Day and why they are on pilgrimage. The prayer, attended by numerous young Catholics, concluded with a veneration of the cross and the relics of Acutis. (F.B.) (Agenzia Fides, 6/9/2025)
