Immaculate Conception Church Bangkok - the church spanning two reigns

Immaculate Conception Church
the church spanning two reigns

The Immaculate Conception Church is probably the oldest Catholic church in Bangkok dating back to the 17th century in the Ayutthaya era during the reign of King Narai the Great.

Immaculate Conception refers to the Catholic doctrine that the Virgin Mary, protected by divine grace, conceived free from sin.

A very old belief dating back to the 15th century, this only became official church dogma on 8 December 1854, on which the feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated.

Located deep in Soi Mitrakham, Samsen, the Immaculate Conception Church has gone through several reconstructions to serve the needs of the changing local population.

The first church was built in 1674 on land donated by King Narai the Great (1657 - 1688) of Ayutthaya to serve the Portuguese in the area. The destruction of Ayutthaya put a temporary halt to the activities of the Catholic Church in Bangkok.

In the Bangkok era during the reign of King Rama I, foreigners were invited back in a bid to revive trade. Portuguese and refugees from a civil war in Cambodia rebuilt the Immaculate Conception Church in 1785. As a result the church was called Bot Ban Khamen or Cambodian village church.

Owing to religious persecution in their country, the Vietnamese have been present in Bangkok and Ayutthaya since the 17th century. Vietnamese immigration increased in the 18th and early 19th centuries during the reigns of King Rama I & II.

A war with Vietnam in 1832 during the reign of King Rama III (1824 � 1851), brought prisoners of war and many chose to remain in Thailand.

With the growing Vietnamese population, the Immaculate Conception was rebuilt in 1834 and called Bot Ban Yuan or Vietnamese village church.

The present church was rebuilt in 1847. This time it was by Monsignor Pallegoix, a famous French priest renowned for his missionary work in the kingdom.

Known locally as Conception Church or Wat Conception, the Immaculate Conception Church Bangkok is another historical monument to the long tradition of religious freedom in the kingdom.

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