Saint Joseph Church

Saint Joseph church is located on 30 Moo11, Tambon Sumpao Rom, Ayutthaya. It was built in 1666 during the reign of King Narai The Great of Ayutthaya after the first generation of missionaries from Paris, Bishop Lambert de la Motte and two priests came to Ayutthaya. They had made great benefits for Ayutthaya and asked King Narai for lands to build a temple and a school as a center for Christianity and education for children. The King, therefore, granted a land on a riverside to build a temple and a school which were then called Saint Joseph’s Camp. The Thais used this temple as a fort to fight with Myanmar until Burmese-Siamese War. The Burmese had burnt it, took all possessions and moved the missionaries to Myanmar.Because of this incident, after the war, this temple had been deserted. Later in 1831, Mgr. Jean Baptiste Pallegoix and the French missionaries renovated it again and, recently, Bangkok Archdiocese renovated many parts, decorated all the interior, and arranged the tomb of Bishop Lambert de la Motte and Bishop Louis Laneau inside. The bones of the other 6 priests and 23 missionaries are moved to the monument in the graveyard. Saint Joseph Church is now a gorgeous yellow building in Gothic style architecture surrounded by a beautiful riverside view. Tourists can visit the inside of this old church. For more information, please contact 03524 2589, 03532 1447. Direction to Saint Joseph Church: http:// www.tourismthailand.org/Cileadmin/upload_img/Multimedia/ Ebrochure/453/วัดนักบุญยอแซฟ.pdf