The pope traveled to a town with a majority of Catholics, about 25 miles from Bangkok. The place is called Wat Khan Tha Kham.
It is the parish with the second largest number of Catholics in the country, with 18,000 people.
They were very pleased to receive the pope. The children threw flower petals to the ground and kept screaming for him.
Viva il papa!
The pope got a kick out of one of the children who was dressed like a cardinal.
Then Pope Francis entered this church where some thousand people were waiting for him.
Practically every priest and religious in the country was in attendance. There weren't too many, since Catholics are a minority in Thailand with 65 million inhabitants.
Therefore, the pope gave them this advice.
POPE FRANCIS
I ask you, please, not to give in to the temptation of thinking that you are few in number. Instead, think of yourselves as little tools in the Lord’s creative hands. He will be writing with your lives the finest pages of the history of salvation in these lands.
The pope regretted Christianity is seen as a foreign religion in the country. He invited them to discover how to show the faith with a Thai flare, which, he said, is much more than just translation.
Pope Francis also explained the key to this is looking at people the same way Jesus would look at them.
POPE FRANCIS
Where many saw only a sinner, a blasphemer, a tax collector, an evildoer or even a traitor, Jesus was able to see apostles. Such is the beauty that His gaze invites us to proclaim. It's a gaze that transforms and brings out the best in others.
The Lord did not call us and send us forth into the world to impose obligations on people. Nor to lay heavier burdens than those that already exist, which are many. Rather it's to share joy, a horizon that's beautiful, new and surprising.
The pope listened the testimonies of two in the crowd: the bishop and a young Buddhist who was baptized and is preparing to enter religious life.
Before leaving, Pope Francis gave them a reminder of the visit. The gift was also a message: one's success in life is based on prayer, not as much on a plethora of activities.
Javier Martínez-Brocal
Translation: Melissa Butz
