CH02500.1446 May 21, 2007 48 EM-lines (511 words) CHINA    Cardinal Zen Makes First Trip To North America Since His Elevation HONG KONG (UCAN) -- Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong is on his first "family visit" to Chinese Catholic communities in North America since becoming a cardinal in March 2006. The first leg of his May 9-June 2 trip to the United States and Canada was a visit to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in California, United States. Father John Lam, pastor of St. Bridget (Chinese) Church, told UCA News via phone that Cardinal Zen celebrated a Mass for parishioners on May 10 and that the cardinal spoke about the Church situation in Hong Kong and mainland China. As it was a weekday, only about 150 Catholics attended the Mass, Father Lam said, but his parishioners, mainly emigrants from Hong Kong, now know more about the current situation of the Church in their motherland. The Salesian priest pointed out that the then-Bishop Zen, also a Salesian, last visited North America in 2000 and that this is Cardinal Zen's first visit to the continent since he became a cardinal in 2006. Besides Los Angeles, Cardinal Zen is also visiting Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. in the United States, as well as Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver in Canada. In Toronto, Father Augustine Chan Kwan-wai, pastor of St. Agnes Kouying Tsao Catholic Church, told UCA News on May 17 the cardinal's trip is a "family visit" for which local Chinese Catholics have been preparing since last year. Father Chan said he expected 1,000 parishioners to attend the May 20 Sunday Mass to be celebrated in Cantonese. During the Mass, Cardinal Zen was to install relics of Saint Joannes Dufresse, a bishop of the Paris Foreign Missions Society, in the church. Both the French bishop and Saint Tsao, for whom the church is named, are among the 120 Chinese martyrs canonized in 2000. According to Father Chan, Cardinal Zen will open a meeting of the North American Chinese clergy and laity association in Chicago May 24-25, and receive an honorary doctorate degree from Amherst College, near Boston. Chinese media in Canada have reported the cardinal saying that the Chinese government wants to establish ties with the Vatican so as to isolate Taiwan. In his talks, Cardinal Zen reportedly was hopeful that China will allow religious freedom and optimistic about prospects for China-Vatican relations under a younger leadership in China. However, the cardinal maintains that both sides still disagree on certain issues and that those with vested interests on the mainland obstruct this process, often creating unhappy incidents. The cardinal also insists that mainland Chinese bishops understand that they need the approval of the Holy See so as to legitimate their positions in the Catholic Church. This means they must submit their list of bishop candidates to the Holy See for verification, Cardinal Zen has said. All Catholics in mainland China, according to Cardinal Zen, now await the pastoral letter Pope Benedict XVI promised to send them after a summit on the situation of the Church in China took place at the Vatican in late January. The cardinal has said he believes it will reveal the uncompromising stance of the Holy See on certain Church issues, but allow negotiations on others. In his meetings with Chinese Catholics in North America as well as in his talks about the Church situation in Hong Kong and mainland China, Cardinal Zen speaks in the Cantonese dialect used by Hong Kong emigrants, or in Mandarin Chinese, which mainland Chinese and Taiwanese emigrants commonly use. END Related UCAN Reports CHINA UCAN Document - Cardinal Zen Offers Advice On How To View Pope's Letter (April 2, 2007) CHINA Cardinal Zen Calls For Bilaterally Acceptable Way To Resolve Obstacles To Normalization (February 14, 2007) CHINA Beijing Appreciates Vatican's Willingness To Have 'Constructive Dialogue' (January 24, 2007) CHINA Church Leaders Welcome Vatican Statement About Recent 'China Summit' (January 22, 2007) CHINA Cardinal Zen Optimistic About China-Vatican Relations (March 31, 2006) IB02493.1446 May 21, 2007 61 EM-lines (619 words) INDIA    India's First Visually Impaired Priest Turns Handicap Into Strength By Jeemon Jacob MURINGOOR, India (UCAN) -- Father Wilson Thomas Kallikkal cannot see his congregation when he celebrates Mass. The congregation cannot see the celebrant either. India's first blind Catholic priest recognizes people only by voice. One of 11 children in an agrarian family, he alone was born blind but gained 20 percent vision after several surgeries. Now 42, he had to fight long odds to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a priest. When no congregation was willing to accept him, "I started a religious congregation for the blind," Father Kallikkal said. The swarthy complexioned priest is happy now since he can serve his community better. "Yes, my Lord helped me realize my dream," he added. Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil of Ernakulam-Angamaly ordained him a deacon and got special Vatican permission for his priestly ordination in 2006, the day after Christmas. "Blindness is no longer a canonical impediment to priesthood," Cardinal Vithayathil told UCA News. "One can overcome blindness to some extent, in this era of laptop computers and Braille," the cardinal added. The prelate appreciates Father Kallikkal's determination and dedication. The priest completed a master's degree in history before going to Rome for his priestly studies. "His perseverance is very strong," the cardinal said. His predecessor, the late Cardinal Antony Padiyara, approved the congregation for the blind in 1990. The congregation is "still in the initial stages," Cardinal Vithayathil said. "Its members are visually impaired lay brothers." Father Kallikkal's Catholic Congregation for the Blind is based at Muringoor, a village in Kerala state, 2,560 kilometers south of New Delhi. Now he offers Mass mostly for the 40-member congregation, with the aid of a text-magnifying laptop computer. "The computer helps me to perform my religious obligations like a normal priest," he explained, since he "can read the projected bold letters on the screen." According to Father Kallikkal, the congregation proves that blindness is no handicap to religious life. "I've never felt that I'm disabled or blind. I live like a normal person," he said, pointing out that he has traveled throughout Kerala to organize blind people. The neglect of their spiritual needs saddened him, so he "took up the challenge to form a prayer group." He started the prayer group while living in a university hostel during college studies. Initially seven blind people gathered for the weekly prayer. "Later, more and more blind people joined our group," he continued. He then got a job as a telephone operator in a bank. His family disapproved of his plan to join a religious congregation. "They wanted me to get married. Some relatives told my parents that I was mentally unstable and required medical care," he recalled. Father Kallikkal resigned his job and joined a charismatic group. He said he used to read about medieval Church history and found monks and monastic life fascinating. "I found that only if I started a congregation could I become a priest," he explained, while admitting he fails to understand the Church's reasoning for keeping blind people from religious life. Two other members of his congregation became priests before him, but he expresses no complaints about Church leaders' earlier reluctance in his case. "It was God who kept me waiting. If he wanted, he would have chosen me much earlier," Father Kallikkal added. Brother Scaria Kuttikatt, who helps the priest with office work, told UCA News that many blind men now give a religious vocation serious consideration. Local people believe Father Kallikkal has special powers and request his prayers. Joseph Antony told UCA News God has granted whatever he has requested through the visually impaired priest. "I have great faith in his prayers," Antony said, adding that members of the priest's congregation spend time mostly in prayer and fasting. END Related UCAN Reports INDIA Magician Priest Experiences God's Miracle After Accident (April 3, 2006) IJ02505.1446 May 21, 2007 66 EM-lines (684 words) INDONESIA    Thousands Of Catholics Welcome Their New Bishop SIBOLGA, Indonesia (UCAN) - About 7,000 Catholics welcomed their new bishop at his episcopal ordination in the western Indonesian diocese of Sibolga. Father Ludovikus Simanullang, 51, a native Sumatran Capuchin priest, was ordained and installed bishop on May 20 in a town square called Simaremare, near St. Therese of Liseux Cathedral in Sibolga. The cathedral could not accommodate the huge number of people. Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, apostolic nuncio to Indonesia, ordained Bishop Simanullang. Capuchin Bishop Martinus Dogma Situmorang of Padang, head of Indonesian bishops' conference, and Coadjutor Archbishop Anicetus Bongsu Sinaga of Medan, the new bishop's predecessor in Sibolga, were co-ordainers. The ordination began with a 200-meter-long procession from the cathedral to the square, led by Saint Mary Catholic Secondary School's marching band. Next came the bishop-elect's relatives, seminarians, priests, liturgical ministers and altar servers, the bishop-elect himself, 24 bishops and diocesan administrators, and lastly the ordaining prelates. Entering the square, Sibolga mayor Sahat Panggabean, a Protestant, and all government officials of the five districts and two municipalities the diocese covers welcomed the procession in front of Panggabean's office. Sibolga town lies 1,250 kilometers northwest of Jakarta. The officials put flower garlands around the necks of the bishops and diocesan administrators, including the nuncio and the bishop-elect. Then they joined the procession and entered the square to attend the ordination and Mass, even though only two of them are Catholics. The two are Nias district head Binahati Bebaehaa and South Nias vice district head Daniel Duha. Thousands of waiting Catholics stood up to welcome the procession as Bataknese tribal dancers performed a Tor-Tor welcome dance. Nias islanders then performed a Tuwu (supporting) dance. Most Catholics in the predominantly Protestant region of Sibolga are Bataknese of North Sumatra and Nias island. In his homily, Bishop Situmorang noted that while the diocese waited more than three years for a bishop, it kept running, spiritual movements kept up their activities, people's faith kept growing and mission stations increased. Still, he said, people longed, waited, asked and even clamored for a bishop. Now, he continued, people should respond to the episcopal appointment and ordination by shouting, "Come Monsignor Simanullang, please lead, shepherd, and walk together with us in doing apostolic work in the diocesan territory!" The presence of 26 bishops, including their own, and two diocesan administrators, he added, was a show of the whole Church's unity and of the prayerful support and fraternity of Catholics throughout the country. After ordination Bishop Simanullang asked the congregation, priests and Religious to work together with him in carrying out apostolic work by loving each other and living in fraternity. "I beg your prayers that I can implement my duties as a servant of Sibolga diocese," he said. Later, after Mass, Mayor Panggabean said in his address that the ordination made history in Sibolga, "because it was the first time an episcopal ordination was held in the government-owned square, while former bishops of Sibolga were ordained in the Vatican." He described the ordination as an opportunity to strengthen friendship among the pluralistic community of Sibolga. "I know him (the bishop) as a humble and patient person. I believe he could well shepherd his Catholics," he said. As a sign of thanksgiving, three representatives of the three biggest ethnic groups among Sibolga Catholics offered special food to the new bishop to eat with the other bishops. Tapanuli people gave goldfish and rice, a symbol of respect and thanks. Nias people provided sumane (roasted pig), a community meal symbolizing unity, and Chinese people offered some cookies and eggs, all packed in red, symbolizing happiness to Chinese. Romaida Boru Matondang, 52, a parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Pangaribuan, Central Tapanuli, and the new bishop's elementary-school classmate, promised to be more active in parochial services to support the new bishop. Sibolga diocese covers the municipalities of Padangsedempuan and Sibolga, and the districts of Mandailing Natal, Nias, South Nias, Central Tapanuli and South Tapanuli. According to 2005 Church data, Sibolga diocese had 205,882 Catholics, 70 percent of them living on Nias island. Archbishop Sinaga was transferred to neighboring Medan archdiocese three years ago. END Related UCAN Reports INDONESIA Local Capuchin Priest Appointed Bishop Of Sumatra Diocese (March 16, 2007) INDONESIA Bishop Accepts Appointment As Medan Coadjutor In Spirit Of Service (January 12, 2004) INDONESIA New Ecclesiastical Province In Sumatra Seen As Helpful for Pastoral Work (July 14, 2003) INDONESIA Archbishop Says Church Faces Difficulties In Helping Displaced People In Aceh (June 20, 2003) INDONESIA Palembang Diocese Passes From Foreign-Born To Native Leadership (July 11, 1997) INDONESIA UCAN Feature - Sumatra Dioceses Increase Liturgical Inculturation (April 12, 1989) IS02450.1446 May 21, 2007 69 EM-lines (728 words) INDONESIA    Denpasar Diocese Holds 'Vocation Concert' To Attract Young DENPASAR, Indonesia (UCAN) -- Tari Penciptaan (dance of creation), a story about the coming of the light of God, opened a "vocation concert" marking this year's 44th World Day of Vocations. The dance was performed by several dancers from three Catholic senior high schools -- St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Joseph and Soverdi -- in Denpasar, provincial capital of Bali, 945 kilometers east of Jakarta. Denpasar diocese's Commission for Seminary/Vocations organized the three-hour concert, entitled The Church Needs You, on Sunday evening, April 29, at the Holy Spirit Cathedral Church. Bishop Benyamin Yosef Bria of Denpasar, along with priests, nuns and seminarians, were among 1,000 Catholics attending the concert, which also featured religious songs, alternating with four on-stage panel discussions about vocations. Moderated by a local television actress, one discussion featured a first-grader and a security guard, and another featured a sixth-grader and the father of a priest and a Religious sister. A third discussion featured two members of a parish youth group, while the fourth discussion featured Father Benedictus Deni Mary, head of the diocesan commission, and Bishop Bria. Bishop Bria said his diocese pays serious attention to vocations. "We always pray and try different activities to promote vocations, so that the Church's sons and daughters will be eager to work in God's vineyards," he remarked. "The Church will always need Religious men and women," he said. The prelate praised the concert as "a fun and joyful event." He compared it to "trying to fill a bowl with water ...but it is only God who can change the water into wine." According to Father Deni, the concert was a novel way to promote vocations among young Catholics. "We often hear about the decline of vocations among young people. We should respond by finding new ways to attract youths," he told UCA News. He attributed the decline to a lack of faith formation within families. Many young Catholics now live in cities, he continued, theorizing that "Catholic children born in cities do not get involved directly in church activities such as becoming altar boys or joining parish youth groups." He mentioned Palasari, a village in the western part of Bali. The Catholic-majority village has produced 11 Divine Word priests and another two diocesan priests as well as several nuns. In that village, he noted, children who went on to become priests and Religious were attracted to Religious life because of their activities as altar boys and in parish youth groups. "But now many young Catholic couples from this village have moved to the cities," he lamented. Following the dance, some 250 Catholic children from Sunday school, faith formation groups and the Pontifical Society of Children and Youth Missioners sang religious songs. Another 250 Catholics, including students, seminarians and nuns, also performed religious songs. Two popular singers completed the concert. Meanwhile, Father Stefanus Dadur, praeses (spirtual leader) of the seminarians of Denpasar diocesan Holy Spirit Minor Seminary of Tuka, told UCA News May 15 that the decline of priestly vocations can be seen from the number of students entering the seminary. In 2000 the seminary received 27 students, but in 2001 there were 18 students only. In 2002 the number dropped to 13 students. In 2003 the number increased to 17 students, and then it dropped again to 16 students in 2004, and 12 students in 2005. Last year the number increased again to 20 students. Sister Regelinda Kefi of Daughters of Rosary Queen (PRR, Indonesian acronym) congregation told UCA News May 15 that her congregation has served in Denpasar diocese since 1986, but found it difficult to get even one girl to join PRR. Charles Borromeo Sister Arnolfine Simamora told UCA News that her congregation has been in the diocese 30 years but only three Balinese girls have joined. According to Sister Simamora, the traditional way of promoting vocations by visiting BECs has not been effective because very few young people attend the meetings. Father Deni told UCA News May 15, many young people who attended the concert responded positively to the event. "Many of our 40 candidates for entering the seminary registered after the concert." According to Bishop Bria, the present 37 priests, including three studying abroad, seem to be enough to serve the diocese's 32,000 Catholics, most of who live in cities. It is the rural areas of Bali and West Nusa Tenggara provinces that lack priests. END (Accompanying photos available with the UCAN Photo Service. Use story code IS02450.1446 or a person's name to search for related photos.) Related UCAN Reports INDONESIA Young Catholics Show Interest In Priestly, Religious Vocations (June 13, 2006) NDONESIA Seminary Open House Aimed At Giving Children Touchstone For Future Interest In Vocations (June 1, 2006) INDONESIA To Promote Vocations, Children Invited To Visit, Stay In Seminary (April 28, 2005) INDONESIA Nuns Help Prepare Students For Priestly and Religious Vocations (July 8, 2003) INDONESIA Parents Pray For Priestly And Religious Vocations (June 14, 2002) PA02453.1446 May 21, 2007 58 EM-lines (652 words) PAKISTAN    Seminarians Gain Inspiration From Cathedral Founder Buried In Crypt LAHORE, Pakistan (UCAN) -- For Asif Sardar, the most exciting part of a pilgrimage to Sacred Heart Cathedral was seeing the coffin of the bishop who had it built, which has lain in a dark crypt for more than a century. Walking in a queue down the stairs next to the altar, Sardar and the 72 other young pilgrims quietly entered the crypt. They switched on a light, revealing an unused altar and the coffin of Belgian Capuchin Bishop Godfrey Pelckmans, who blessed the cathedral cornerstone in 1903. He died a year later, before the building was completed and consecrated. As some sat cross-legged on the floor and studied the plaque on his coffin, some touched the purple cloth on top. Still others touched the coffin and then made the sign of the cross. Sardar, 21, who comes from Gujranwala, north of Lahore, said this was the first time he had seen the resting place of the missioner since joining St. Francis Xavier Major Seminary, outside Lahore, four years ago. "I used to hear about him in professors' lectures, but never thought I would come this close to him, until now," he told UCA News. Sardar was one of 41 seminarians who visited Sacred Heart Cathedral on May 12 to celebrate the local Church's "Day for Seminarians and Religious." The seminarians, along with 33 friars, attended a Mass led by Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore at the cathedral in Lahore, 270 kilometers southeast of Islamabad. The seminarians and friars joined the growing list of pilgrims who have visited the cathedral, consecrated on Nov. 19, 1907, during its centennial year. The anniversary celebration is set to climax in November. Sardar's group also visited the centenary museum, opened last December, which contains the vestments of past bishops, photographs taken during the construction of the cathedral, relics of saints and old musical instruments formerly used in liturgies. During his homily, Archbishop Saldanha urged the seminarians to complete their training with eagerness, and he also encouraged respect for articles used in liturgy and the churches as a whole. "You are the future caretakers and protectors of churches," he said, "since you decided to dedicate your life to the Church." At the end of the Mass, Archbishop Saldanha unwrapped a ciborium the seminarians had presented with the altar offerings. "It is a most suitable gift, since your vocation leads you to serve at the altar," he said. Currently, 88 seminarians attend the four minor seminaries and national major seminary in Pakistan. Major seminarians study philosophy at St. Francis Xavier and theology at Christ the King Major Seminary in Karachi. Talking with UCA News, Father Augustine Soares, rector of Christ the King, said the major problems seminaries face are lack of funds and an alarming dropout rate. "Neither the laypeople nor seminarians pay enough for the expenses, therefore the whole burden falls on the archbishop," he said. Elaborating on the dropout rate, Father Soares estimated that only 35 percent of seminarians become priests. "Generally 50 percent of them leave while in the minor seminary, 10 percent drop out during philosophy studies in Lahore and 5 percent leave while taking theology classes in Karachi," he said. Father Zacharia Ghouri, rector of St. Mary's Minor Seminary in Lahore, agrees. "The annual average of first-year students has been about 25, which goes down to eight or nine by the time they reach fourth year," he told UCA News. The main reason seminarians drop out is "lack of a clear vision," Father Ghouri added. "The main challenge is to help them realize their vocation and charism. It is a struggle to find the 'right fruit.'" For seminarians, the pilgrimage's "sneak peak into the Church history" was a special treat. Sardar said Bishop Pelckmans' coffin was evidence of determination to offer oneself to God wholeheartedly. "The conviction I will take with me is to be strong in faith until I die," he said. END Related UCAN Reports PAKISTAN Catechists Praised For Hard Work, Increase In Catholics (April 26, 2007) PAKISTAN Major Seminary Celebrates Golden Jubilee, As Rector Reflects On Challenges Facing It (December 15, 2006) PL02501.1446 May 21, 2007 62 EM-lines (718 words) PHILIPPINES    Bishops' Conference Head Welcomes Priest's Historic Election Win QUEZON CITY, Philippines (UCAN) -- Archbishop Angel Lagdameo of Jaro, who heads the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, welcomes the victory of a Catholic priest in a local election, but only as an "exception." In a statement issued on May 19, Archbishop Lagdameo said Father Eddie Panlilio, 53, who was elected governor of Pampanga province, is "starting a new history" in his province as the first Catholic priest elected to public office in the Philippines. The province is 60 kilometers northwest of Manila. "My congratulations with sympathy go to Father Ed, whom his folks in Pampanga will learn to call 'Among Gov' (priest governor)," he said in his statement a day after the priest was proclaimed winner in a close race. Father Panlilio faces a "new playing field for which he was not trained in the seminary," the prelate said, and this "political field" has "embedded, ingrained and systematic political problems" such as illegal gambling. However, the national Church leader also pointed out, Father Panlilio's election is an "exception" and "we (bishops) want to keep it that way." The priest defeated incumbent Governor Mark Lapid, who had been implicated in corruption charges, and Lilia Pineda, the wife of alleged "gambling lord" Rodolfo Pineda. According to the official Commission on Elections (COMELEC), Father Panlilio received 219,706 votes, Pineda 218,559 and Lapid 210,875. But local media reported on May 21 that Pineda's lawyers urged COMELEC to reconsider its rejection of their plea to exclude votes in northern Pampanga's Mabalacat municipality due to "excess and spurious" returns in the area. Archbishop Lagdameo's one-page statement refers to the former parish priest's decision to run for governor as both a "call" and a "challenge to raise among the laity a new breed of political leaders." Father Panlilio was the pastor of St. James the Apostle Church in Guagua town before requesting and receiving a "suspension from priestly duties" from Archbishop Paciano Aniceto of San Fernando so as to run for governor. "The suspension from priestly functions which his Archbishop gave him," Archbishop Lagdameo said, "is to ensure that there (is) no confusion between priesthood and politics, thus respecting the separation of Church and State." The archbishop also said he would dissuade any priest from running for public office because the priesthood is already "public," with its "peculiar burden and function for the sanctification and salvation of the people." Bishop Edwin de la Pena, who heads Marawi prelature, 805 kilometers southeast of Manila, describes Father Panlilio's involvement in politics by running for governor as "extraordinary," an initiative that the level of "graft and corruption" in Pampanga forced the priest to undertake. The bishop, a member of the Mission Society of the Philippines, said in an interview aired May 21 on Church-run Radyo Veritas (radio truth) that Father Panlilio, as a "true Christian," felt the need to respond to the challenge of good governance. Father Panlilio told UCA News before his campaign got underway that he viewed the chance to offer the people a "credible alternate candidate" as a victory in itself, and that winning would be a "bonus." The priest said he would want to return to his priestly duties after serving a three-year term, but local media quoted Archbishop Oscar Cruz of Lingayen-Dagupan, a canon lawyer, as saying it would be hard for priests who run for government posts to return to the ministry. However, Father Panlilio explained to UCA News, "I told the archbishop (Cruz) that I am ready to face the consequences of my decision. The priesthood is my life, and I intend to spend the rest of my life as a priest." Maricel Roque, 27, a resident of Guagua, told UCA News on May 21 that she is against Father Panlilio's involvement in politics. "I think priests know little about politics," she said. "Running the government should be done by people who are experts in that field." Two other Catholic priests vied unsuccessfully for office in the legislative and local elections that were held on May 14. Father Crisanto de la Cruz, a diocesan priest who ran for mayor in Zamboanga City, conceded defeat to Mayor Celso Lobregat and congratulated the incumbent in a statement issued on May 18. Father Ronilo Omanio of San Jose vicariate lost his gubernatorial bid in Occidental Mindoro province to incumbent Governor Josephine Ramirez-Sato. END Related UCAN Reports PHILIPPINES Parish Priest Takes His Gubernatorial Campaign To The Streets (April 27, 2007) PHILIPPINES Another Priest Seeks Electoral Mandate For Change (April 17, 2007) PHILIPPINES Archbishop Urges Filipinos To Reflect On 'Social Sin' And Collective Penance During Holy Week (April 4, 2007) PHILIPPINES Priest Enters Race For Governor Of Pampanga Province (March 28, 2007) TH02486.1446 May 21, 2007 58 EM-lines (643 words) THAILAND    Catholics Spend 'A Day With Mary' In Bangkok To Commemorate Fatima BANGKOK (UCAN) -- Catholics gathered for a day of prayer and devotions prior to celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Fatima at a Bangkok church named in her honor. More than 300 devotees took part in "A Day with Mary" on May 12 at Our Lady of Fatima Church in the Din Daeng area. The Saturday program began with a morning procession of a statue of Our Lady of Fatima, followed by a group rosary and Mass. That afternoon, people again prayed the rosary together, after which some priests shared on their relationship with Mary. Father Suthichai Phunphout, the parish priest, told the group that he "became a priest through the help of Mother Mary" and believes the rosary can help everybody. Father Somkiat Trinikorn, director of Bangkok archdiocese's pastoral training center in Samphran, outside the city, said praying to the Blessed Mother had helped him through difficult times when he was young. "Whenever I am in trouble, I pray to Mother Mary and everything is better," he said. After the sharing and a snack at the front of the church, participants made the Way of the Cross then joined another procession, this time with the Blessed Sacrament. More prayers followed and an offering of flowers to Mary. The program finished at dusk with a prayer to prepare parishioners for the Fatima feast celebrations the next day. The Sunday celebrations began at 10 a.m. with Mass led by Father Joseph Chamnian Kitcharoen, vicar general of Bangkok archdiocese. Cardinal Michael Michai Kitbunchu of Bangkok led another Mass that evening. Together, the Masses drew about 3,000 people from around the country. Despite heavy rain, people flooded into the church for the second Mass, filling it to capacity before preparations for the liturgy were completed. During the Mass, the cardinal spoke of the Marian apparitions at Fatima, calling on worshippers to pray for her consolation and her help. Our Lady of Fatima parishioner Thaweeluk Wannasrirat, 42, was "so happy to spend the time, a whole day," with the Blessed Mother. "I have a lot of work, but I took leave from it," he told UCA News, "Mother Mary has given us many things," he continued. "It is time to give thanks and spend time with our mother." The Fatima devotion dates back to 1917 in Portugal. Between May 13 and Oct. 13 that year, the Blessed Mother appeared six times to three poor shepherd children near the village of Fatima, about 110 kilometers north of Lisbon. Today Fatima is one of the most visited Marian shrines in the world. In Thailand, as elsewhere, Catholics hold special Marian devotions in May and October. More than half the county's 470 Catholic churches are named after the Blessed Mother or one of her titles. Work on Bangkok's Our Lady of Fatima Church formally began on June 20, 1955, with the blessings of French Paris Foreign Missions Bishop Louis-August Chorin, who then headed Bangkok apostolic vicariate. French Father John Baptist Amastoi oversaw the construction, on a 15-acre lot, which was completed in 1956. The first Mass featuring the carved wooden statue of Our Lady of Fatima that Father Amastoi brought to Thailand from Portugal was celebrated on April 15, 1956. A procession with the statue was held after Mass on May 13, and on the 13th of each month thereafter until October, mirroring the Fatima visions. The tradition continues annually to this day. In 1957, the late Sanan Silakorn, a famous sculptor, carved a teak statue of Jesus on the cross, which stands alongside the Marian statue in the church. Anawach Malawan, a parish official, told UCA News the church has held 17 marriage and 16 baptismal ceremonies so far in 2007, the latter a parish record. The 3,277 parishioners include many ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese Thais. Of the parish school's almost 2,800 students, however, only 156 are Catholics. END (Accompanying photos available with the UCAN Photo Service. Use story code TH02486.1446 or a person's name to search for related photos.) Related UCAN Reports THAILAND For Chinese Catholics, Lunar New Year And Other Traditions Fade With Cultural Adaptation (February 23, 2007) THAILAND Diocesan Priests Are Free To Join Missionary Order, Says Cardinal (April 26, 1989) THAILAND Thousands Attend Marian Year Closing, Country Now Dedicated To Mary (August 31, 1988)