Santa Cruz Church, Bangkok

Santa Cruz Church is a Roman Catholic church in the Kudi Jeen neighbourhood on the Thonburi side of Bangkok. Its history goes back to early Portuguese missions in Siam dating back to 1516. This was just a few years after the Portuguese conquered Malacca. Siam managed to keep itself out of Portuguese invasion by maintaining good Siamese-Portuguese relations. The 1516 treaty between Ayutthaya and Lisbon supplied firearms and ammunition to the Siamese while enabling the Portuguese to establish trade and religious missions in Ayutthaya.

After Ayutthaya was destroyed in 1767 by the Burmese, the Portuguese Eurasian community relocated to Thonburi as soon as it was established by King Taksin as the new capital of Siam. The construction of the Santa Cruz Church commenced in 1770, as soon as Thonburi was settled. At that time, it was known as the Church of the Holy Cross.

Santa Cruz Church, Bangkok
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In the 1780's the parishioners of the church were split into two camps. The "Portuguese parishioners" were led by the Dominican priest from Macau. However, the French missionary society (Société des Missions Étrangères de Paris) also based themselves at the church and its priest Father Willemin, who reports to the French Vicar Apostolic, Bishop Coude, led another camp. Due to this rift, the Portuguese sought the king's intervention, and this led to the establishment of the Holy Rosary Church across the river, in present-day Samphanthawong.

In 1835, the Church of the Holy Cross had to be rebuilt as the original wooden structure was in a bad state. Another wooden church was built using Chinese craftsman. As a result, the church took on a surprisingly Chinese appearance, leading it to be called Kudi Jeen, meaning "Chinese church". It was then that the church was renamed the Santa Cruz Church.

The present building of Stata Cruz Church dates from 1916, when the wooden structure was again falling apart. This time it garnered the attention of King Rama VI himself, who commissioned two Italian architects Annibale Rigotti and Mario Tamagno, to design the church building. The result is what we see today.

Visiting Santa Cruz Church

Take a ferry across the Chao Phraya River from the Pat Khlong Talat Cross River Ferry Pier to the Wat Kanlayannamit Cross River Ferry Pier, and then walk a short distance to the church.

List of Churches in Bangkok; list of Districts of Bangkok

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