By Emmanuel Cruz *
Throngs of people flooded early into Chiang Mai’s cathedral this morning to witness the installation of the diocese’s fifth bishop. Bishop Peter Suphot Roeksujarit was installed by Archbishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana in the outdoor courtyard of Sacred Heart School.
The Mass drew bishops from across Thailand, along with Archbishop Peter Bryan Wells, Apostolic Nuncio to Thailand, and Archbishop Samuele Sangalli, Adjunct Secretary and Administrator of the Dicastery for Evangelization, hundreds of clergy from Thailand and neighboring countries, and representatives of Chiang Mai’s interfaith community. With no seating left in the courtyard, the overflow of faithful packed the cathedral itself, the school cafeteria, and even the kindergarten courtyard, where large screens streamed the ceremony live.
The installation closes a vacancy that traces back to June 27, 2024, when Pope Francis appointed Bishop Vira, then Bishop of Chiang Mai, as Apostolic Administrator of Bangkok, splitting his duties between the two dioceses. He was formally installed Archbishop of Bangkok on March 2, 2025, while continuing to oversee Chiang Mai until today, when he handed over the pastoral staff to the diocese’s new shepherd.
For those gathered, the day carried a mix of anticipation and quiet hope for what comes next. Bank, a lay faithful from Chiang Mai, said she hopes the new bishop draws back those who have drifted from the Church, trusting that faith can be renewed even in small ways.
Father Juan Pablo, a Colombian priest from nearby Chiang Rai who made the trip for the occasion, offered a similar sense of anticipation mixed with patience. “It’s a new opportunity for the diocese, to have a new bishop, a new pastor,” he said. “For almost two years, we’ve been without a pastor, so it’s a sign from God, and a sign for the Church that the Church is alive, still walking.”
During the Mass, the faithful witnessed the new bishop receive the episcopal ring and mitre, followed by the crozier, or pastoral staff, symbolizing his role as shepherd of a new flock.
Thousands attended, most of them ethnic minorities dressed in their traditional clothing, a reflection of the Chiang Mai diocese itself, shaped by the diversity of its people and the vast geography it covers. Hymns rose in local languages throughout the Mass. Braving the heat and humidity, the faithful sat through the ceremony attentive, patient, and visibly happy.
With the Bishop’s first Mass scheduled for tomorrow, Archbishop Vira presided over today’s Mass.
Suphot now leads a diocese that spans four provinces and roughly 48,013 square kilometres, an area comparable to Costa Rica, bordering Myanmar and home to numerous hill tribe communities, including Karen, Hmong, Lahu, Akha, and Lisu peoples, each with its own language and customs. His episcopal motto, Caritas Omnia Corda Unit or “Love unites all hearts,” is a fitting sentiment for a diocese home to such diversity.
The region carries significant social challenges alongside its size. Poverty, limited access to education, gender inequality, and statelessness leave many residents vulnerable, particularly in ethnic minority communities near the border. Human trafficking and drug smuggling remain persistent problems in the area, and Catholic priests and religious sisters are active in protection efforts, with Catholic schools often serving as one of the few refuges available to vulnerable children.
The installation also comes amid broader shifts facing the Catholic Church in Thailand. Secularization and consumerism are drawing young people away from religious practice across faiths, a concern Buddhist, Catholic, and Muslim leaders have discussed jointly in recent years. Migration to urban centers continues to thin rural parish communities in the north, even as Chiang Mai diocese ordained a record class of priests earlier this year.
Yet as Bank and Father Juan Pablo’s words suggested, and as the size of today’s crowd made clear, a sense of renewed optimism and hope was tangible throughout the day. For a diocese that waited more than two years for a shepherd, that hope, visible in the packed courtyards and the vibrant traditional clothes worn for the occasion, may be the truest sign yet that the Church here is, as Father Juan Pablo put it, still walking. – Vatican News
Emmanuel Cruz has served as a lay missionary in Chiang Mai since 2015
