Catholic devotees in Thailand join choir for visit of Pope Francis

By Juarawee Kittisilpa

 

Pope Francis waves as he arrives for the weekly general audience at the Vatican, November 13, 2019. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A choir formed of Catholic devotees training to join the church in Thailand were rehearsing on Saturday ahead of the visit of Pope Francis next week.

 

The choir will perform for the pope at St. Peter's parish in Nakhon Pathom province, about 56 km (35 miles) west of Bangkok, during his trip to the kingdom from Nov. 20 to Nov. 23.

 

It is the first papal visit to Thailand since the late Pope John Paul toured the region in 1984.

 

"I'm really excited because I've never seen the real pope before," said 18-year-old choir member Yowanna Nueajeen. "I only see him on TV. I feel really overwhelmed and I might shed some tears while singing."

 

The 61-strong choir will perform songs with lyrics about following Christ and devoting lives to him, said conductor Sister Pornthip Trakunkasemsiri.

 

"We are singing these songs [to the pope] to let him know that we will be following his footsteps," she said.

 

"I feel quite nervous because a lot of the singers are in the choir for the first time and have never sung at big events such as this one. But I’m certain they will pull through."

 

Chatri Buddeeduang, 50, another choir singer, said he is delighted about the pope's visit to Thailand and that he was chosen to join the choir.

 

"I'm not sure when a pope will be visiting Thailand again," he said. "It makes me really proud to be born in this country as a Catholic."

 

Pope Francis will meet King Maha Vajiralongkorn, the supreme Buddhist patriarch, as well as Catholic leaders and students, before moving on to Japan.

 

(Wrtiting by Orathai Sriring; editing by Mike Harrison)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-11-17

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5 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

A choir formed of Catholic devotees training to join the church

I didn´t know that training was mandatory for joining a church or a religion based on believes.

 

On second though, maybe they want order and not chaos. Just look at the carnage on the roads that is a result of poor driving training and education. 

Ok, now I know! It´s a Thai thing.

An off topic post and a troll post have been removed. 

"We are singing these songs [to the pope] to let him know that we will be following his footsteps,"

 

Really, so she wants to follow in the footsteps of a person that protects pedophiles. That's something to be proud of. NOT!!!!

19 hours ago, lensta said:

"We are singing these songs [to the pope] to let him know that we will be following his footsteps,"

 

Really, so she wants to follow in the footsteps of a person that protects pedophiles. That's something to be proud of. NOT!!!!

It did not take long for the darkness of a reply to crawl out from under a rock.

You may want to re-think the rock bit.

 

????

why does he wear a dress?  A nice white suit would look better and then he would resemble Morgan Freeman, who, as we all know, is God on earth.   I've seen the movie, so it must be true. 

On 11/18/2019 at 12:46 PM, Pilotman said:

why does he wear a dress?

Maybe so that he looks harmless to all those altar boys...

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