Holy Rosary is one of the oldest Catholic Churches in Bangkok. Located right along the river in the historic Talad Noi area, Holy Rosary dates back to 1769, when it was established by Portuguese Catholics who had fled Ayutthaya after its fall.
Known in Thai as Kalawar Church - a Thai transliteration of the Portuguese word "Calvario", meaning Calvary or Golgotha - the church arose as a split between two groups of Catholics. One group of Portuguese expats chose to follow a French priest across the river to Kudi Chin, where the established Santa Cruz Church. The other group established Holy Rosary on the eastern banks of the Chaophraya.
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| Kalawar Church, or Holy Rosary |
I visited the church as part of one of my fact-finding walks with the National Museum Volunteers. One of the priests had agreed to show us around inside the historic old building. Beneath a stained glass window sat a glass coffin containing a statue of a bloody and bandaged Jesus, a venerated artifact dating back over two centuries which is used by the church as a part of its Holy Week observations.
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| the priest showed us the church's artifacts |
Another very important artifact at the church is the statue of Mary and the baby Jesus, which also dates back to the early days of Roman Catholicism in Thailand.
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| Madonna and Christ |
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| the church has a beautiful altar |
Today, many of the parishioners at Holy Rosary are Thai-Chinese, and when we visited, the church was getting ready for Chinese New Year, with good-luck decorations and red door hangings adorning the beautiful old building.
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