Devotion to Therese of Lisieux at monastery in the heart of Bangkok City

The patron saint of missions is also a reference point for Catholic communities in Asia, which have made her known to many non-Christians. On Oct. 15, Pope Francis will issue an apostolic exhortation dedicated to her 150 years after her birth.

Bangkok (AsiaNews/Eglise d'Asie) - Pope Francis yesterday at the Angelus remembered the feast of Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus, whose 150th anniversary this year marks her birth, announcing that one of her exhortations will be published on 15 October apostolic dedicated to the patroness of the missions.

The feast of the saint of Lisieux was also celebrated yesterday in Thailand: this was reported by Eglise d'Asie, the agency of the Missions Étrangères de Paris, in an article on the particular experience of the Discalced Carmelite nuns of this Asian country who are preparing to celebrate the centenary of its presence in two years.

The Bangkok monastery was founded in 1925, in the Silom neighborhood, when Msgr. René Perros, then apostolic vicar of Bangkok, invited Mother Anna of Jesus Mary, superior of the convent in Phnom Penh, to create a community in Thailand too.

Since the first steps taken by the first 12 nuns who arrived then, the context has changed profoundly: today there are around 60 Carmelite nuns in Thailand, present in four convents in the provinces of Bangkok, Chantaburi, Nakornsawan and Nakhon Pathom.

In Bangkok the monastery is located at number 14 Convent Road, in what has now become the Thai City, the commercial and financial heart of the Thai capital. Among skyscrapers and places of often dubious leisure, alternating with wellness centers and luxury restaurants, in an area of staggering commercial value, the nuns dedicate their lives to prayer, providing for their livelihood by producing and selling hosts and rosaries.

The monastery is however an open presence in the heart of the city. People "begin to know and love Saint Teresa when they ask for her help to overcome problems and difficulties such as unemployment or infertility", current superior of the convent in Bangkok, Mother Teresa of the Child Jesus (who also bears the saint's name) tells Eglise d'Asie. "Even non-Christians come here to pray to her and say they receive what they ask for," she adds.

Since Saint Teresa is the patroness of missions, her name is used by many Thai Catholics of all ages. Wipada Pukeartkul, struck by the saint's simplicity, told Eglise d'Asie that she chose it as her baptismal name: "I am inspired by her love for God. For me her life is a sign that it is not necessary to do great things to express true love for the Lord, but that it is sufficient to love him authentically by doing ordinary things, even very small ones in everyday life".