The eleven vicariates of the congregation (8)

Betharramite presence in Thailand began in the early fifties after the expulsion of missionaries from China.  The congregation had accepted the mission in China, in the region of Yunnan, in 1922, and another thirty missionaries had carried their mission to Tali (today known as Dali), where in December 1948, the Holy See had built the diocese, entrusting it to Monsignor Lucien Lacoste, first Betharramite Bishop.

The Civil War and the winning political-military which brought to an end the Communist regime in 1949, forced the missionaries to leave the country.  The last to leave China were Bishop P. Gioacchino Spini, in July 1952, after having spent around 130 days in prison, together with Sister Albina Trameri, of the Daughters of the Cross.  However, from November 1951 some missionaries, including Fathers Saint-Guily, Pédebideau and Séguinotte, arrived in Bangkok in Thailand, joined the following year by Fathers Lanusse, Sablayrolles, Fognini e Lontaitzbéhère, all ex missionaries in China.

So began the Betharramite missionary adventure in South-East Asia.  In December 1951, the first Betharramites arrived in Chiang Mai, in the North of Thailand, which would be the site of the apostolic mission.  Other missionaries, some of old and some new, joined the new work between 1952 and 1953.  Father Saint-Guily was nominated First Superior, under the authority of Bishop Lucien Lacoste, who in 1959 would be nominated Holy Administrator of the newly erected Apostolic Prefecture of Chiang Mai, elevated to the rank of diocese in 1965.  The Betharramites revealed a fundamental role for the birth and the formation of the church in the north of the country, with the institution of missionary stations, the foundation of churches, chapels, the construction of the Cathedral of Chiang Mai, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the formation of seminaries …  It would be impossible to describe in a few short sentences the immense work that has been done by Betharram for the church in Thailand.

Towards the middle of the 1980s, the congregation, after having handed over the diocese to the Bishop and the diocesan clergy, decided to set up a Betharramite Seminary for young Thais.  This new work saw the coming together of local missionaries and all the Congregation.  And so in January 1987 the new Sampran residence, near the capital Bangkok, was inaugurated.  This houses the training centre.  Today, there are 20 Betharramite priests in Thailand who were trained at Sampran.

Following the new organisation of the regional congregations, Thailand, which was already a vice-province in 2001, became a regional vicariate of the Blessed Mary and the Crucified Jesus.  Thanks to the new and frequent religious professions and ordinary priests, the number of Betharramite Thais increases ever more, and this has allowed in these last few years the rise of new apostolic works and the birth of a tight collaboration with the Betharramite vicariate of India.

Roberto Cornara

Its Present and its Future...with Father Tidkham Jailertrit scj, regional vicar

We have communities in 3 different dioceses, Bangkok, Nakhon Sawan, and Chiang Mai.

Looking ahead 5 years from now, we will have (God willing) 27 priests 6 scholastics, 3 Novices, 15 postulants, 5 pre-postulants and 10 students. There will be 4 communities: Sampran, Nakhon Sawan, and 2 communities in Chiang Mai.

Formation of the Thai vicariate
When we look back to 30 years ago, the congregation had only just begun Formation in Thailand. The future looked uncertain. We had few formators and strained finances and only a school and a place for the seminarians to live. But there was hope, enthusiasm and a trust in providence and the Holy Spirit. We would like to thank the pioneers who began this work, for they showed great courage.

At present, the community is growing in number, as a small tree grows branches and fruit. Now we have 20 native Thai priests, 4 foreign missionaries, 6 scholastics, 2 novices, 11 postulants, 5 pre-postulants and  12 students.

So when we look at Formation five years from now, we are not just focussing on the increasing number, but to the quality of the members of the Congregation. Over the next five years we expect that there will be more candidates coming to us, a good number of vocations. And we hope that we will have five more priests in the next five years.
Some challenges in formation:
1. The limited number of formators. At present we have few
formators, and lack of formators with specialised knowledge.
2. The process and stages of formation are sometimes not easy to set up clearly. The formation guide is useful, but should be flexible for changing contexts.
3. Finance: this issue is very important. We have no regular income in the seminary, we live day to day by providence.

Luckily that we have many kind people, who support us, but not long term. We have set up a small project called “economic self-sufficiency” with a focus on farming and planting vegetables. But due to the increase of the education fees in college and school, we will struggle to survive in the future. We are grateful for the generosity of the General Council, who have supported us.