Assumption Cathedral, Bangkok 4.66

The Assumption Cathedral is the principal Roman Catholic church of Thailand, located within the grounds of Assumption College at 23 Oriental Avenue, New Road, in the Bang Rak district of Bangkok. It is the main church of the Archdiocese of Bangkok. It was visited by Pope John Paul II during his trip to Thailand in 1984.HistoryThe Renaissance style building is the Cathedral of the Archbishop and of the Archdiocese of Bangkok.The Latin term "Assumpta est Maria in Caelum" ("the assumption of Mary into heaven") is inscribed in the arch of the ceiling in the middle of the Cathedral.The history of the Cathedral date back to the year 1820 when Bishop Florens was the head of the “Siam Mission”. A piece of land was purchased to build a church in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, paid for by donations. A traditional Thai-style church was completed for the Catholic community in that area in the year 1821, and given the name “Assumption Church”. After the completion of the church, the office of the bishop was built nearby and in the following year, the church was named “The Assumption Cathedral”, the Cathedral of the Bishop of the Bangkok Diocese. Since then, the Assumption Cathedral has continuously been the permanent residence of all the bishops of the Bangkok Diocese.By 1909, owing to the growth of the Catholic community, the old Thai style church building was too small. Fr. Colombet, the Rector of the Cathedral, decided to construct a new church. A French architect designed the master plan. Local construction materials were used. The interior decorations such as marble were ordered from Italy and all the stained glasses were ordered from France. The construction work took 9 years to complete. The new Cathedral was consecrated on 15 August 1919, the Feast of the Assumption, by Bishop Rene Perros.