Sao Paulo Church

The church of São Paulo (San Paolo) for the Jesuit sect (locally called Ban Jesuit) was one of the three parishes established in the Portuguese settlement, south of Ayutthaya the other two were São Pedro (San Pedro) for the Dominican sect (locally called Ban Jacobin) and Deus de Madre for the Franciscan sect. Engelbert Kaempfer (1690 CE) also mentions a small church behind the Dominican church, maintained by two fathers of the Order of Saint Augustine.

The ruins of the Jesuit Church of São Paulo have not yet been discovered. Still, they are believed to be located within the Portuguese settlement, off the city island in the southern part of the present-day Samphao Lom Sub-district (1).

Jean de Courtaulin de Maguelonne (1638-?) and Simon de la Loubère (1642-1729) mark the Jesuit Church on their maps, published in 1686 and 1691 CE, respectively.
Phraya Boran Ratchathanin (1871-1936 CE) marked the location of "Wat Portukes Yesuwid Nikai" (Monastery of the Portuguese Jesuit Sect) on his 1926 CE map along the western bank of the Chao Phraya River, the old Lopburi River, just below the mouth of Khlong Suan Phlu. However, he did a sloppy job, as this location corresponds to the site of the Franciscan Madre de Deus Church. (2)

As the river was the main transportation route in ancient times, the church's ruins should be located near the riverbank, similar to the Dominican Church. For decades, scholars believed that the mound at Wat Pho Chai was the site of the Jesuit Church of São Paulo, until excavations conducted by the Fine Arts Department in 2008 CE revealed that it was a Buddhist monastic site. [1]

Since the early 16th century, there have been contacts between Portugal and Siam. Portuguese ships arrived at the port of Ayutthaya, and over time, Portuguese merchants, shipbuilders, and soldiers of fortune settled there. The first Dominican missionaries reached Siam in 1567 CE. After the Burmese-Siamese War of 1569 CE, new priests arrived, and the Roman Catholic parish expanded.

The early Portuguese-dominated Jesuit wave

In 1606 CE, the Jesuits in the province of Goa decided to send one of their members to Siam. Father Balthasar Sequeira arrived in 1607 CE, sometime between March 16 and 26, during the reign of King Ekathotsarot (1605-1610/11 CE). He had spent 28 years in Goa, and his main task was to assess whether conditions were suitable for preaching the gospel in Siam. In 1609 CE, he died in Phetchaburi from an ongoing illness while returning to Goa or Cochin.

In 1619 CE, two more Jesuits, possibly in contact with Sequeira—Fathers Pedro Morejon (1562-1639 CE) and Antonio Francisco Cardim (1596–1659 CE) —arrived in Siam, but only stayed briefly as they were heading to Japan. While in Siam, the Jesuits mostly worked among Japanese converts in the capital, but their presence was brief.

Apostolic Father Pedro Morejon (3), nephew of the Archbishop of Toledo, was tasked in 1625 CE with securing the release of Spanish prisoners held in Siam (4) and establishing a Jesuit mission. His companions included Father Roman Nixi, a Japanese, and Father Antonio Francisco Cardim (1596-1659 CE), a Portuguese priest. The latter was headed for Laos. Father Morejon left Manila in January 1626 CE and arrived in Ayutthaya in March. His mission, acting on behalf of the Spanish Governor of Manila, was successful, and he returned the same year with the released prisoners. Father Nixi took care of the Japanese in the church they had built, most likely in the Japanese settlement of Ayutthaya.

In a letter dated 10 December 1624 CE, the Augustinian bishop of Malacca, Dom Gonçalo de Silva, the Jesuit superior in Macau, sent a request regarding Jesuit missions in the region. In 1627 CE, a new Superior, Father Giulio Cesare Margico (5), an Italian, was sent to Ayutthaya. He arrived in August and brought with him a letter from the Governor of the Philippines, expressing satisfaction with the successful resolution of the Spanish incident. Margico established a wooden house and a small wooden church in the Portuguese quarter.

The small Jesuit community came to an end in 1632 CE. Father Cardim, sick and seeing no possibility of entering Laos, returned to Manila in 1629 CE. An apostate Christian calumniated the two remaining Jesuits and had them thrown into prison. The Japanese came to the rescue of their countryman and freed Father Nixi. Father Margico died in prison in 1630 CE, poisoned by the apostate (6). Nixi remained alone with the Japanese and shared their fortune. During the flood season of September -November 1632 CE, the Japanese settlement was suddenly attacked at night by the Siamese (7). Nixi could escape to Nakhon Sri Thammarat and leave Siam. With his departure, the first Jesuit residence came to an end. [2]

The Second Jesuit wave

It was not until 1655 CE that the Jesuits decided to return to Siam, where a large Japanese Christian community was calling for a Jesuit priest. The rise in the Japanese Christian population in Siam was due to the Christian uprising in Nagasaki in 1637 CE and the subsequent expulsion of Christians from Japan (8). Many of them sought refuge in Ayutthaya. Father Tommaso Valguarnera accepted the order to go to Siam from the Visitor, Father Sebastião da Maya (1597-1664 CE). (9)

The founder of the second Jesuit residence was thus Father Tommaso Valguarnera (1608–1677 CE), from Sicily. He arrived in Siam from Macau in 1655 CE and remained there for fifteen years until 1670 CE. The arrival of a Portuguese ship from Macao provided significant assistance to Father Valguarnera. The ship's captain had given King Narai, who reigned from 1656 to 1688 CE, a painting of a fountain with pleasant water displays. King Narai enjoyed it so much that he wanted to know if anyone believed he could give form to an image and turn what was only painted into reality. Father Valguarnera offered to undertake such a commission. The work was executed so well, and the king was so pleased that he promised Father Valguarnera to build him a house. [3]

In 1658 CE, a fire broke out and destroyed the wooden Jesuit Church and the Superior's residence. King Narai ordered a new location for the Society of Jesus to build a residence and a church, surrounded by a square to prevent another fire. Apparently, the stones used to build the church were likely imported as a ship’s ballast from Macao, since none were available in Ayutthaya. De Marini wrote: “Thanks to the local customs of colorfully painting and gilding, the façade’s architecture is so graceful that even the Gentiles are enchanted by it.” [4]

In 1663 CE, Father João Cardoso (10) was sent to Ayutthaya to replace Father Valguarnera as Superior. Valguarnera was asked by King Narai (reign 1656-1688 CE) to oversee the rebuilding of the city walls of Ayutthaya.

A Portuguese pilot, Sebastiao Andres, arrived in Ayutthaya around the same time as Father Valguarnera and died only seven months later, leaving his property valued at 14,000 “Scudi Romani” to the Society for the foundation of a college. Father Valguarnera fulfilled Andres’s last wishes, and the "Colégio de São Salvador" (Collegio di San Salvador / College of the Holy Saviour) was already active in 1670 CE. In the same year, Valguarnera was appointed Vice-Provincial of the Jesuit China mission. He died on 29 May 1677 CE in Macau (some sources say Canton) while still holding office. (11)

The most important member of the Jesuit residence in Ayutthaya after Valguarnera was surely Father Jean Baptiste Maldonado (1634-1699 CE), from Mons (Spanish Netherlands, now Belgium). He was in Ayutthaya from 1673 to 1691 CE, and served as Superior for many years (12).

During the period 1655-1709 CE, about thirty other Jesuits passed through the residence. Sixteen of them were passing through on their way to China, or having been expelled from nearby missions. The actual residents were rarely more than four. Most of the time, there were only two. [2]

The astronomical activity at the São Paolo Church.

Father Jean Baptiste Maldonado was joined in 1681 CE by Father Antoine Thomas (1644-1709 CE) from Namur (Spanish Netherlands, now Belgium). Father Thomas, an astute astronomer and mathematician, made his first solar observations on 14 October 1681 CE, one and a half months after he arrived in Ayutthaya. On 30 December 1681 CE, he carried out further solar observations. Based on Father Thomas’s combined observations, the latitude of Ayutthaya could be derived. On 22 February 1682 CE, there was a lunar eclipse, which Thomas observed and used to determine the longitude of the city of Ayutthaya.

At the Kraisorn Siharat Hall or Phra Thinang Yen in Lopburi, there is a small monument marking the era of modern astronomy in Thailand, where King Narai, with the Jesuit priests and the first assembly of envoys representing King Louis XIV of France, observed the lunar eclipse on 11 December 1685 CE and the partial solar eclipse on 30 April 1688 CE.

The São Paulo Church in Ayutthaya was the site of the first astronomical observations in Thailand in 1682 CE, including the first calculation of Ayutthaya's geographical coordinates, three years before the observations in Lopburi. If ever confirmed, the church's location deserves its own monument.

The conversion and marriage of Constantine Phaulkon

Constantine Phaulcon (Konstantin Gerakis, 1647-1688 CE), also known as Chao Phraya Wichayen, came from Cephalonia, which was then a Venetian possession. After working for the English East India Company, he went to Madras and Banten, arriving in Siam around 1678 CE. Thanks to his language skills and trading expertise, he entered the service of the Phra Khlang Kosathibodhi (the brother of Kosa Pan), and by 1683 CE, he was serving King Narai.

Constantine Phaulkon renounced Anglicanism on 2 May 1682 CE, at the Jesuit Church under the influence of Fathers Thomas and Maldonado. He converted to Catholicism and aimed to promote the Catholic cause in Siam, perhaps more for personal political reasons than for religious conviction. Phaulkon married Maria Guyomar de Pinha (1664–1728 CE), a Catholic of mixed Japanese, Portuguese, and Bengali heritage, at this location a few days later (13). [5]

The eighteenth century, the final countdown

At the beginning of the eighteenth century, only Father. Gaspar da Costa remained, and when he died in 1709 CE, a period of one or two years ensued during which no Jesuit resided in the residence.

In March 1767 CE, the Portuguese and Cochin-Chinese settlements were attacked, isolated, and surrounded by the Burmese. The Christians fought bravely, but they were few and short of ammunition. With the situation hopeless, the Portuguese settlement surrendered to the Burmese on 21 March. For two days, the churches and property were protected to persuade the French Bishop Brigot and his Christians to surrender. After the Bishop surrendered on 23 March, the St Joseph church and seminary, as well as the São Pedro and São Paulo churches, were plundered. The catholic priests were taken prisoners and, during May, sent to Tavoy (present Dawei) in Burma.

Towards the end of May, the Jesuit priest fell sick with dysentery and died in Bang Chang (Amphawa District) near Samut Songkhram. Bishop Brigot wrote that "he was buried with the roar of the guns of the galleys and from the walls of the city, so that he was honored with greater honors than a Burmese officer." And so came to an end the old Jesuit mission in Siam.

Footnotes:

(1) Free translated the "Capsized Junk" sub-district.

(2) Phraya Boran Ratchathanin also situates the São Pedro Dominican opposite and between the Dutch and English settlements, which is certainly not correct.

(3) Pedro Morejon was a Portuguese Jesuit priest serving in Kyoto when the 1614 CE decree expelled missionaries from Japan (nationwide ban on Christianity). He travelled to Macao and, in 1626 CE, visited Ayutthaya. (Polenghi, 2007)

(4) 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 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).

(5) Father Giulio Cesare Margico entered the Society of Jesus in Milan around 1603–1605 CE. After ordination, he was sent to the Portuguese East Indies mission (Provincia Goana). By 1624 CE, he was already an experienced missionary in Macau and Cochinchina (southern Vietnam). In 1627–1628 CE, he helped negotiate the release of Portuguese prisoners taken after a skirmish in Cambodia and learned to speak and read Thai. He composed one of the very first Catholic catechisms in Thai script (manuscript no longer extant but mentioned in Jesuit annual letters of 1629 and 1635 CE. He remained in Ayutthaya continuously for about 4 years (1624–1638), far longer than most missionaries of the period. He was betrayed and poisoned in prison in 1630 CE. Margico is remembered as the true founder of the permanent Jesuit presence in the Kingdom of Siam.

(6) The apostate falsely accused Father Margico of being involved in sensitive government affairs, claiming he was plotting against King Prasat Thong. The king, who feared even his shadows, had Father Margico chained.

(7) The attack on the Japanese settlement during the flood season of 1632 CE marked the end of the Japanese diaspora’s golden age in Siam. It helped explain why Jesuit and Catholic influence declined in the same period. King Prasat Thong, an usurper, viewed Yamada Nagamasa, who played a key role in court politics and military campaigns, and his Japanese Ronin mercenary troops as threats because they were loyal to the previous king. The third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, rejected Prasat Thong's mission because he was an usurper of the throne and due to reported conflicts with the Japanese community in Ayutthaya. Nagamasa was sent on a campaign to southern Siam and was killed, but the Japanese settlement remained armed and potentially rebellious. King Prasat Thong then sought to eliminate the Japanese threat through a military purge permanently. Many Japanese residents were killed immediately homes and warehouses were destroyed, and the survivors were forced to flee to Cambodia, Cochinchina, or back to Japan.

(8) The Shimabara–Amakusa Rebellion (1637–1638 CE) broke out in the Shimabara Peninsula and Amakusa Islands, both directly under the Nagasaki magistracy. It was the last major Christian uprising in Japan. After Tokugawa Ieyasu, Christianity was increasingly regarded as a threat to political loyalty and linked to foreign (Portuguese/Spanish) influence. In April 1638 CE, the shogunate forces captured Hara Castle and killed nearly all the rebels. The rebellion was suppressed, leading to the depopulation of Shimabara and Amakusa and the complete eradication of open Christianity in Japan.

(9) Sebastião da Maya served as Visitor for the Jesuit Missions, covering both Japan and China, from roughly 1650 to 1658 CE, based in Macao, an important Jesuit base in Asia. The Jesuit Mission of Siam was part of the Province of Japan and hence depended on the Provincial residing in Macau. The parish of Ayutthaya was part of the Malacca diocese. This diocese was erected in 1558 CE as a suffragan of Goa and was part of the Portuguese Royal Padroado of the King of Portugal.

(10) Upon arriving in Siam from Macao in 1659 CE, João Cardoso was assigned to the Jesuit mission in Tenasserim. He remained there until May 1662 CE, when the first French apostolic missionaries and bishops arrived at that port city on their way to missions in Vietnam. In 1663 CE, he was transferred to Ayutthaya, and he returned to Macao in 1669 CE. (Teixeira, 1988).

(11) On 9 September 1673 CE, Pope Clement X issued the brief Cum nonnulli. He appointed the Sicilian Jesuit Feliciano Pacheco (1621–1686 CE) as Visitator Apostolico (Apostolic Visitor) of the Jesuit Provinces of Japan and China with extraordinary powers, including the right to act independently of the Portuguese Padroado and even to depose the Vice-Provincial if necessary. The brief was issued precisely because Rome had received complaints about Valguarnera’s administration and his conflicts with the newly arrived French Jesuits and the Paris Foreign Missions (MEP) bishops.

(12) During the period 1684–1687 CE, Father Maldonado was sent to Cambodia.

(13) Maria Guyomar de Pina, Thao Thong Kip Ma, was a Siamese woman from Ayutthaya. She was of mixed Japanese, Portuguese, and Bengali descent. Maria Guyomar is known in Thailand for introducing new dessert recipes into Siamese cuisine at the Ayutthaya court.

References:

[1] Bidya Sriwattanasarn - siamportuguesestudy.blogspot.com/2010/06/lost-of-ancient-monument-of-jesuites - retrieved 8 June 2010 CE.

[2] Pietro Cerutti, S.J. The Jesuits in Thailand - Part I (1607 – 1767). sjthailand.org.

[3] 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.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Three military accounts of the 1688 "Revolution" in Siam (Jean Vollant des Verquains - History of the revolution in Siam in the year 1688, Desfarges - Account of the revolutions which occurred in Siam in the year 1688, De la Touche - Relation of what occurred in the kingdom of Siam in 1688), Itineria Asiatica - Michael Smithies (2002) - page 100.

AYUTTHAYA HISTORICAL RESEARCH

THE JESUIT CHURCH OF SAO PAULO

(Detail of de La Loubère's map, published in 1693 CE)

(Map drafted by Phraya Boran Ratchathanin - Anno 1926 CE)

(Map “Siam, o Iudea” drafted by Vincenzo Coronelli – Anno 1696 CE)

(Detail of the São Paulo Church depicted on Vincenzo Coronelli’s map “Siam, o Iudea” drafted in 1696 CE)

(The São Paulo Church depicted on Jean de Courtaulin de Maguelonne’s map drafted in 1686 CE)

(Map “Siam ou Iudia” drafted by Jean de Courtaulin de Maguelonne – Anno 1686 CE)

(The memorial monument at the Kraisorn Siharat Hall, installed by the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand - NARIT - Picture taken 13 June 2020)

(IHS emblem of the Jesuits. The emblem's design is attributed to Ignatius of Loyola - 1541 CE)

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

HISTORY OF AYUTTHAYA

© 2009-2026
All rights reserved