At the mass to mark the 60th anniversary of the monarch, Mgr Thienchai Samanchit underlined the "great privilege of living with such an example before our eyes."
Bangkok (AsiaNews) The Bishops' Commission for Education held a thanksgiving mass presided over by Mgr Lawrence Thienchai Samanchit on 9 June at the University of the Assumption Bang-na district to mark the 60th anniversary of the coronation of King Bhumibol Adulayadej. Teachers and students of all the Catholic schools in Bangkok, the Thai capital, were invited to the ceremony.
Mgr Thienchai, bishop of Chanthaburi, celebrated the event in the name of the Thai Bishops' Conference. During the homily he said it was a "great opportunity and privilege for all of us to be able to follow in the footsteps of the king, a living model of justice and truth."
The bishop recalled how on the first day of his reign, 9 June 1946, the king committed himself to "doing all he could for people and country". He said: "Since then, more than 2,000 development projects have been launched across the nation, evident proof of the truth in the king's words."
The bishop added: "His main aim is to provide people with enough education to live self-sufficiently. The core of 'self-sufficiency economy' is not based on a lack of aid from the government and institutions, rather it insists on the importance of each one of us being aware of his potential and living thanks to this."
On the day of the anniversary, more than one million people gathered outside the Throne Hall to pay homage and to show their gratitude and admiration to the king, who appeared for a few minutes to thank the people.
On the same day, the religious affairs department invited religious leaders from across the country to hold a liturgical service to commemorate the event outside the Chapel Royal of the Emerald Buddha: the gesture was aimed at "demonstrating the unity of the Thai people without divisions owing to diverse faiths".