On Saturday, August 4, the Society of Jesus in Thailand joyfully celebrated the priestly ordination of Fr Charles Nopparat Ruankool SJ at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady in Chiang Rai in northern Thailand. The ordination Mass was celebrated by Bishop Joseph Vuthilert Haelom, the first bishop of the new Chiang Rai Diocese, which was erected at the end of April. The Bishop was ordained on July 7.
Fr Nopparat, or Fr Bee as he is known, is from Chiang Rai. He was 20 years old when he entered the Society of Jesus on April 30, 2007 and was sent to the Maria della Strada Novitiate in Taunggyi, Myanmar. He took his First Vows on May 5, 2009 at Seven Fountains, the Jesuit retreat centre in Chiang Mai. He studied philosophy at the School of Philosophy in Jakarta, Indonesia then spent two years with the Jesuit Prison Ministry Thailand for regency, before doing his theology studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. He was ordained as a deacon at the Chiesa del Gesù, Rome by Cardinal Walter Kasper on April 3.
Fr Bee comes from a Buddhist family, and is still the only Catholic in his family. As a student at the Santivithaya School, a Catholic school in Chiang Rai, he had been so impressed with his Catholic friends that he decided to be baptised when he was 15 years old. When he was 17, he attended the Jesuit vocation camp where he met Spanish Jesuit Fr Miguel Garaizabal SJ. The encounter moved him strongly and started him on the path of his Jesuit vocation.
“When I saw Fr Miguel, I asked myself, ‘Why does this missionary Jesuit priest still look so happy even though he is far from his homeland?’” said Fr Bee.
Later, during his candidacy, it was with the help of his spiritual director, American Jesuit Fr Sigmund Lachenski, that he was able to slowly discern his vocation, and he eventually decided to enter the Society of Jesus.
“When I look at my vocation as a Jesuit and a priest, I feel very grateful, first of all to God. God who called me not only at the moment when I became a Catholic, but even before that through my family. Even though my family is Buddhist, they’re good Buddhists. My father taught me to be responsible, while my mother taught me to be always generous to others. I believe that the values they taught me will help me to be a good Catholic and a good Jesuit priest as well.
“I am grateful also to many priests, the Sisters of St Paul de Chartes and catechists for teaching and cultivating the Christian faith in me when I was young. Thanks to the Society of Jesus which has formed me with love, respect and especially the freedom to think about what I can do for the Church and society. Thanks to everyone who has been part of my life. They make me know that my vocation is not a blessing only for me, it is also a blessing through and for many people.”
The next day, August 5, Fr Bee celebrated his first Mass with Fr Sugiyo Pitoyo SJ, Superior of the Thai Jesuit Region, and other Jesuit priests in the cathedral. Students of the Santivithaya School performed a traditional dance before the celebration of the Eucharist, and the Mass ended with thanksgiving from the representatives of the parish council and the Sisters of St Paul de Chartes.
At the end of the Mass, Fr Bee asked the faithful at the celebration for their prayers for him to learn to be a good and humble priest for God and for others.
Fr Nopparat has been assigned to teach at Xavier Learning Community, Chiang Rai, and to be minister of the new Jesuit community there. He will also do some pastoral ministry in the parish on Sundays.
View more photos of Fr Bee’s ordination and first Mass
