A Catholic Monument in Cha-Am: The St Theresa Prayer Hall

[Jonathan Fairfield]

A Catholic Monument in Cha-Am: The St Theresa Prayer Hall

CHA AM;-- It’s one of the most unusual sights you are likely to come across in your local travels, presumably the legacy of a failed mission to spread Christian worship and the message of the Catholic Church in rural Thailand.

Today this religious building is a relic; a magnificent monument slowly decaying. However the symbols and religious murals of worship and Catholicism remain as a glorious affirmation of the founders’ Christian faith. We visited this virtually abandoned building after a tip-off from the Hash House Harriers, thanks for your discovery Stuart! If you know the entrance to the Springfield Royal Country Club, it’s easy to find.

Travelling on the bypass (Pranburi – Cha- Am) Highway North, about 10 kilometres before reaching Cha-Am, Route 101 is a main intersection with signs to the Golf Course heading west. The Course entrance is another 5 kilometres; after a further 500 metres you’ll see a pillared entrance on the left.

Follow the road a short distance and you’ll come across the main large hexagonal building with impressively wide steps leading you up to the second level of what once was the magnificent St Theresa Prayer Hall. The Prayer Hall is clearly unused with birds flying through the open areas, a broken tiled floor and ruined vestiges of religious worship, including a fallen alter and crumbling statues. However all is not lost.

Many multi-level frescoes on the walls show painted scenes of the Christian message in remarkably good condition. One such fresco shows the ‘garden of Eden’, complete with Adam and Eve, dinosaurs and elephants! Vibrant stained glass windows are intact, beaming with reds, golds and blues. The domed high ceilings are also resplendent with gold and red religious symbolism. This is would be an amazing sight in many parts of the world, but in Thailand, absolutely astounding.

There is evidence that the Prayer Hall still gets a little care and attention with gardens and pathways being maintained. Your visit will be noted, please leave it the way you found it! But what of the history?

We organised an English translation of a stone proclamation in Thai, to see if there were any clues.

Here’s what we found: The land was purchased by the Very Reverend Father Surachai Chumsriphan and his wife on St Theresa Day (1st October) 1991. “On that day, Father Manas Chuabsamai baptized my wife and summoned Saint Theresa to be her guardian angel. In honour of God and Saint Theresa who always give us blessing, we had this prayer hall built with great belief in them. Here, people are allowed to practice meditation, pray to God by themselves or convene a seminar or meeting.” This is a quote from the opening day, though no date was described.

On 1st May 2005, the building was handed over to the Diocese in Ratchaburi (with responsibility for Petchaburi Province), with a message from Father Manas Chuabsamai (John Bosco). It had then been administered for 11 years (1994). He is quoted as saying “All I wish is to see is that the Saint Theresa Prayer Hall will continue to serve as a spiritual sanctuary for anyone in search of God.

Here, people can pray, meditate and improve their mind more profoundly. That’s all we know so far about this accidental ‘discovery’; we’d like to know more. If you can tell us about this monument to Christianity in Thailand, please let us know. A word of caution! On the balcony at the side of the building we were attacked by a swarm of wasps, which left some very painful memories; please be careful!

-- Hua Hin Today 2014-09-08