Surat Thani (AsiaNews) Mgr Joseph Prathan Sridarunsil, Bishop of Surat Thani, presided over a Eucharistic Congress in the parish of "Mary Help of Christians" in Phanom district, to close the Year of the Eucharist and to mark the start of the Year of Evangelisation.
In his homily, the bishop said "all baptized and confessed Catholics are missionaries as mentioned in the Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio: 'to proclaim the Good News is to renew the Church, to reinforce the faith and the Christian's uniqueness in order to increase enthusiasm and inspiration in strengthening our faith, whenever we proclaim it.'
"I would like everyone to consider and put into practice the pastoral directive and vision set up by the Surat Thani Diocese to proclaim Jesus Christ with enthusiasm within the local culture and environment so that 'Your Kingdom [may] come' (Mt 6:10)."
Fr Antonio Miele, the parish priest of 'Mary Help of Christians', said he was happy and confident of the community response to the Eucharistic message: "My hope is stronger and I am very impressed to see Catholics' strong faith in the Eucharist."
Supatra Srirahong, a lay person who goes to the parish, said "usually not many people join the personal Eucharistic prayer but today there are so many people coming for the Eucharistic Congress, it's like a big feast or a Sunday mass."
Surat Thani Diocese covers 15 provinces in the south of Thailand with a total population of 8,904,385 of which 6,682 are Catholics. There are 10 schools run by the diocese and 14 schools run by the religious.
