More than 360 Catholic delegates from across Thailand gathered in Samphran this week for the country’s first Apostolic Congress on Mercy, ahead of the 6th Asian Apostolic Congress on Mercy in 2027.
Held at Baan Phu Waan on the western outskirts of Bangkok, the gathering brought together 362 participants under the theme “Divine Mercy: Hope Beyond All Hopes.”
The congress formed part of preparations by the local Church to host the 6th Asian Apostolic Congress on Mercy, or AACOM 6, in 2027.
Thailand previously hosted the 2nd AACOM in Bangkok, which drew more than 1,400 devotees from 12 Asian countries.
The national congress followed the participation of a Thai delegation in the 6th World Apostolic Congress on Mercy in Vilnius, Lithuania, in June. The delegation included Father Chalongrat Sangkharat and Father John Wirach Amonpattana, C.Ss.R.
The congress opened on the Feast of St. John Paul II with a Eucharistic liturgy presided over by Archbishop Peter B. Wells, apostolic nuncio to Thailand.
In his homily, Wells reflected on Christ’s desire to cast fire upon the earth.
“This is not the fire that destroys; it is the fire of divine love, the fire of the Holy Spirit, the fire that melts hardened hearts and makes mercy possible,” Wells said.
Recalling St. John Paul II, who canonized St. Faustina Kowalska and established Divine Mercy Sunday, Wells told participants that mercy is not weakness but God’s strongest answer to evil.
He also urged participants to examine whether the “fire of mercy” was present in their own lives, stressing that a Church of mercy must begin with hearts transformed by forgiveness.
Wells said “hope beyond all hopes” was born on the Cross, where Christ responded to violence not with retaliation but with the prayer, “Father, forgive them.”
He also said mercy can challenge what he described as false peace built on silence, injustice, or the tolerance of destructive behavior out of misplaced politeness.
Archbishop Anthony Veeradet Chaiseri of Tharae-Nong Saeng, vice president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand, spoke on the congress theme and emphasized trust in Christ’s promises as central to the Divine Mercy devotion.
He referred to the prayer “Jesus, I trust in Thee” and to the devotion’s emphasis on hope and trust amid fear and despondency.
Fr. Prospero V. Tenorio, secretary general for Divine Mercy Asia, delivered a keynote on discipleship and apostleship.
Drawing from Scripture, Church teaching and the lives of the saints, Tenorio said discipleship begins not with human worthiness but with God’s merciful invitation.
“God’s mercy does not erase our past but transforms it into a mission,” Tenorio said.
He cited figures including St. Peter, St. Augustine and St. Faustina Kowalska, who recorded Jesus’ instruction: “The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is trust.”
Fr. Nap Baltazar, assistant secretary general for Divine Mercy Asia, led a session on the “Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy in the Year of Grace.”
Fr. Phongthep Pramualprom, who promotes the Divine Mercy devotion in Thailand, spoke on “The Divine Mercy for All of Us.”
Other sessions focused on St. Faustina as a model of hope, small-group discussions on the congress theme and a sharing session on mercy for prisoners.
The two-day gathering also included Eucharistic adoration, quiet discernment and the recitation of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
Participants concluded the congress with preparations continuing for Thailand’s hosting of the 6th Asian Apostolic Congress on Mercy in 2027.
