AYUTTHAYA HISTORICAL RESEARCH



THE FRANCISCAN CHURCH MADRE DE DEUS





The Franciscan Church was located outside the city island of Ayutthaya, in the southern area of the Samphao Lom Sub-district (1). The Franciscan Church was one of the three Roman Catholic churches in the Portuguese settlement the other two were the Church of São Pedro for the Dominicans and the Church of São Paulo for the Jesuits. The Franciscan Church was the most northerly of the Portuguese settlement, standing opposite the Japanese village and overlooking the Chao Phraya River (old Lopburi River).

Little is known about Franciscan missionary work in Siam at that time (2). The Franciscans opened a mission in Ayutthaya in 1582 CE (during the reign of King Maha Thammaracha, 1569-1590 CE) at the decision of their headquarters in Malacca. Friar Jeronimo de Aguilar was appointed vicar general of the mission and sent to Siam.

Shortly after, a group of Franciscan Friars en route from Macau to Europe via Malacca called at Ayutthaya in 1583 CE and joined the mission. The group consisted of the Friar Superior Augustin de Tordesillas, Martin Ignacio de Loyola, Juan Bautista Lucarelli and Juan Probe. However, the group decided to return to Macau due to the Friar Superior's grave infirmity and planned to organise a more efficient missionary expedition to Siam at a later stage.




(The logo of the Franciscan Order - retrieved from franciscanseculars.com)



The missionary expedition began eight months later, in 1583 CE, with the same group, expanded by Jerónimo de Aguilar, Francisco de Montilla, and Diego Jiménez, and intended to provide spiritual care for the Portuguese and other Christians of diverse origins.


The Siamese King, upon the arrival of the large group of priests, ordered a proper monastery of stone and lime to be built. In 1585 CE, the monastery, called 'Madre de Deus' (Mother of God), was inaugurated. The friary had a cloister, many dormitories (obviously intended to train local clergy), workshops, and a church. [1]


The same year, Friar Antonio da Madalena was sent to Siam, where he stayed until 1588 CE.


After 1588 CE, there was apparently a period when no Franciscan friars were present in Ayutthaya. Because the Dominican mission was abandoned for unknown reasons, the Franciscans reopened their mission and sent Friar Gregorio Ruiz in 1593 CE. [2]





(Groundplan of the Portuguese settlement by Pratipat Poompongpaet)



After King Naresuan (reign 1590-1605 CE) took Lovek (Cambodia) in 1594 CE, he returned with a significant number of captives of all ranks. Three Franciscan friars: Gregório da Cruz, António da Madalena and Damião da Torre, were kept captive in Siam, alongside other clergy like friars Silvestre de Azevedo, Jorge da Mota, and Luís da Fonseca. When later released, only Silvestre de Azevedo returned to Cambodia. António da Madalena sailed to Goa. [3]


There were captive Portuguese who were so troublesome that the King forbade the Portuguese and the religious from leaving Ayutthaya. The missionary activity had ups and downs, as Portuguese-Siamese relations influenced it.


Before the turn of the century, the king dispatched a Portuguese merchant, Diego Veloso (Belloso), as an ambassador to Manila to seek Spanish support for his army and strengthen his international alliances. However, Veloso betrayed the king by conspiring with the ruler of Cambodia against Siam. This act of treachery brought trouble for all missionaries, who were blamed for Veloso's high treason. Consequently, the missionaries were prohibited from preaching the gospel and placed under strict police supervision.


The mission was also marred by bloodshed. On 21 March 1600 CE, a newly baptised wife of a Japanese businessman was stabbed to death in the Franciscan church, in full view of the congregation, by her husband after he learned of her conversion upon returning from a trip. [4]


Friar Ruiz left for Spain in 1603 CE. Other Franciscans who continued the mission included Friars André do Espírito Santo (1606-1611 CE), André de Santa Maria (1610-1616 CE) and André Pereira. Friar André do Espírito Santo died in 1611 CE.


Friar André de Santa Maria worked in Ayutthaya during the reigns of King Ekathotsarot (1605-1610/11 CE) and King Song Tham (1610/1611?-1628 CE). His behaviour was deemed suspicious, and he was expelled from the kingdom. [5]





(The Franciscan Church on a 1993 CE Fine Arts Department Map)



After the Don Fernando De Silva incident of 1624 CE, in which the Spaniards captured a Dutch yacht in Siamese waters, all the Portuguese in Siam fell out of favour. (3)


In 1628 CE, a Siamese junk was sunk by the Portuguese, and by the end of that year, a state of war existed between Siam and Portugal. All this, of course, was not very favourable for the Franciscan mission, and I presume it was left abandoned during that period. (4)


On 9 April 1639 CE, a Portuguese Embassy from Macau arrived in Bangkok, led by Ambassador Captain Francisco d'Aguiar Evangelho, to restore diplomatic and trade relations. The Franciscan friar António de São Domingos accompanied him. The Ambassador requested that the Siamese King allow the priest to remain on his own account, grant him the right to practise his religion freely, and give him access to the court. He also asked for a stipend of 4 Taels. King Prasat Thong apparently agreed to the request. [6]


When the French missionaries arrived in Ayutthaya in 1662 CE, two Franciscan priests were active alongside four Jesuits, two Dominicans, and three secular priests.


Other Franciscan missionaries included Friar Luis da Madre de Deos (1673-1689 CE), who arrived in 1673 CE. Agostinho de São Mónica and Francisco de São Bonaventura arrived in 1755 CE. [7]


The Franciscan church was plundered after the French Bishop Pierre Brigot, at the Cochin-Chinese settlement, surrendered to the Burmese on 23 March 1767 CE.



Nicolas Gervaise (1662/63-1729) did not report the Franciscan Church in his work "Histoire naturelle et politique du royaume de Siam" published in 1688 CE. He mentions only two Catholic Portuguese churches, namely the Church of Santo Domingo (São Pedro) and the Church of Santo Paulo (São Paulo). [8]


Neither Simon de La Loubère (1642-1729 CE), in his "Du Royaume de Siam", published in 1691 CE, nor his map “Plan de la ville de Siam” refers to the Franciscan Church. He also mentions only the Churches of the Portuguese Jacobins and Jesuits. [9]


Phraya Boran Ratchathanin's map, drafted in 1926 CE, indicates the ruins of the Jesuit and Jacobin churches (but in the wrong position), but not those of the Franciscan Church. (5)


The area of the Franciscan Church lies on private land. The church's location is shown on a plan of the Portuguese settlement, drafted in the 1980s during the excavation of the Dominican Church. The plan also indicates the location of the São Paulo Church, but after excavation of that area, the location proved incorrect. The accuracy of the Franciscan Church's location remains uncertain. Based on this plan, I tentatively indicated the presumed location of the Franciscan Church in the aerial picture below.


The area of the Franciscan Church, to my knowledge, has not yet been excavated as the area is private land. The church's location is mentioned on a plan of the Portuguese settlement drafted somewhere in the eighties when the Dominican Church was excavated. The plan also indicates the location of the San Paulo Church, but after excavation of that specific area, the location proved incorrect. The question remains in how far the location of the Franciscan Church on this plan would be well correct.

Based on this plan, I tentatively indicated the presumed location of the Franciscan church in the aerial picture below (14° 20' 14.9" N, 100° 34' 28.7" E). I have been told that there are still foundations of the church covered by vegetation, based on a quick survey conducted during the excavation of the Dominican Church.





Footnotes:

(1) Freely translated the “Capsized Junk” Sub-district.

(2) Saint Francis of Assisi (Italy, 1182-1226 CE) founded the Order in Italy in 1209 CE to live the Gospel in a radical way within the church. The Franciscans were also known as the Serafici, as “Serafico” was the nickname of their founder, Saint Francis of Assisi. (Polenghi, 2007)

(3) In 1624 CE, Don Fernando de Silva, a Spanish captain, attacked the Dutch VOC yacht "Zeelandt" in Siamese territorial waters at night. King Songtham ordered to attack the Spaniards. A fierce battle ensued wherein 150 Spaniards were killed, the remaining Spaniards were thrown in prison, and their two ships were confiscated. Reference: Villiers, John (1986) - François Caron and Joost Schouten - A True Description of the Mighty Kingdoms of Japan and Siam - facsimile of the 1671 London edition - The Siam Society, Bangkok Van Vliet, Jeremias. The Short History of the Kings of Siam. Bangkok: The Siam Society, 1975 (Translated by David Wyatt).

(4) On 20 April 1628 CE, a patache under the command of Diego Lopez Lobo, a Portuguese, attacked a Royal Siamese ship carrying a Siamese Embassy on its return voyage from Canton after delivering the annual tribute to the King of China, loaded with silk and other commodities. Lopez Loba sailed with his patache and the Royal Siamese ship straight to Manila. [Ref: Van Vliet, Jeremias. The Short History of the Kings of Siam. Bangkok: The Siam Society, 1975 (Translated by David Wyatt) / The Philippine Islands 1493 - 1898 Emma Helen Blair.]

(5) Phraya Boran Ratchathanin (1871-1936 CE) was the Superintendent Commissioner of Monthon Ayutthaya from 1925 to 1929 CE, but occupied important functions since 1896 CE in Monthon Ayutthaya.


References:

[1] Iraola, Antton Egiguren (2007). True Confucians, bold Christians: Korean missionary experience, a model for the third millennium. Rodopi.

[2] Chumsriphan, Surachai (1990). The great role of Jean-Louis Vey, apostolic vicar of Siam (1875-1909), in the church history of Thailand during the reformation period of King Rama V, the great (1868-1910). Dissertatio ad Doctoratum in Facultate Historiae Ecclesiasticae Pontificiae Universitatis Gregorianae. Roma.

[3] Loureiro, Vanessa (2005). The Jesuits in Cambodia: a look upon Cambodian religiousness (2nd half of the 16th century to the 1st quarter of the 18th century). Bulletin of Portuguese - Japanese Studies, vol. 10-11, June-December, 2005, pp. 193-222. Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Lisboa, Portugal.

[4] Iraola, Antton Egiguren (2007). True Confucians, bold Christians: Korean missionary experience, a model for the third millennium. Rodopi.

[5] Polenghi, Cesare (2007). Giovanni Filippo de Marini, Delle Missioni… (1663): An Annotated Translation of the Chapters on Cambodia, Siam, and Makassar. Journal of the Siam Society Vol 95.

[6] Ruangsilp, Bhawan (2007). Dutch East India Company Merchants at the Court of Ayutthaya: Dutch Perceptions of the Thai Kingdom, Ca. 1604-1765. BRILL, Leiden-Boston.

[7] Chumsriphan, Surachai (1990). The great role of Jean-Louis Vey, apostolic vicar of Siam (1875-1909), in the church history of Thailand during the reformation period of King Rama V, the great (1868-1910). Dissertatio ad Doctoratum in Facultate Historiae Ecclesiasticae Pontificiae Universitatis Gregorianae. Roma.

[8] Gervaise, Nicolas (Paris,1688). The Natural and Political History of the Kingdom of Siam. Translated and edited by John Villiers (1998). White Lotus Press, Bangkok. p. 152.

[9] Loubère, Simon (de la) (1691). Description du Royaume de Siam (2 tomes). Amsterdam. (White Lotus,1986).



When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.
(Alexis de Tocqueville)





HISTORY OF AYUTTHAYA



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