Fr Nopparat Ruankool SJ, fondly called Fr Bee, is from Chiang Rai, Thailand. He was 20 years old when he entered the Society of Jesus on April 30, 2007. Kieran Craven, an Australian volunteer teacher at Xavier Learning Community (XLC), interviewed Fr Bee to get to know him more.
Kieran: Where are you from and where did you complete your studies?
Fr Bee: I am originally from a Buddhist family in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand. My parents have two sons and I am the second one. My first school was the Santivithaya School where I studied from kindergarten to Grade 6. Then I continued studying in schools in Chiang Rai and Nakorn Pathom, until I finished my high school. During this period of studies, I was baptised as a Catholic when I was about 15 years old and began thinking about a vocation as a Jesuit priest.
I began my Jesuit life when I entered the novitiate in Taunggyi, Myanmar in 2007. After that, I did my philosophy studies at the Driyakara School of Philosophy, Jakarta, Indonesia. Then, I continued working two years with foreign prisoners in Bangkok. Before my priestly ordination, for three years, I studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome.
Kieran: When and where were you ordained?
Fr Bee: I was first ordained as a deacon at the Gesù Church, Rome by Cardinal Walter Kasper last April 3. Four months later, I was ordained as a priest at the Cathedral of Nativity of Our Lady, Chiang Rai by Bishop Joseph Vuthilert Haelom, the Bishop of Chiang Rai diocese on August 4, the Feast day of St John Marie Vianney, the patron of priests.
Kieran: What did you do in the weeks following the ordination to celebrate?
Fr Bee: After my priestly ordination, I celebrated my first Mass at the Cathedral of Nativity of Our Lady, Chiang Rai because this was a place where I was baptised and received my vocation as a Jesuit. Therefore, to get ordained at this Cathedral is very meaningful and significant for me personally. After that, I was invited to celebrate first Masses in various places: parishes, religious communities, Jesuit houses, etc.
Fr Bee at his priesthood ordination
Kieran: What are you doing now at XLC?
Fr Bee: At XLC, I have three main responsibilities. First, I am a minister of the Jesuit residence and of the school; it means to help in practical and financial matters. Second, I teach some courses to students: Critical Perspectives, Philosophy of the Human Person, Reflection and Reading for Academic Purposes. Third, as a priest, I help to celebrate daily Masses at XLC and Sunday English masses at the Cathedral in Chiang Rai.
Kieran: What are you plans for the future? What do you want to be working on in 10 years?
Fr Bee: I need to work in Thailand for a few years before continuing further studies. I don’t know exactly what I will study yet, but I will surely study something that will contribute to the Church and the Jesuit mission in Thailand, especially the education for the poor. [Xavier Learning Community]
Read about Fr Bee’s ordination here.
