Supporting the Thai Catholic Church – The Xavier Immersion Program
The Jesuits have been in Thailand for a very long time. In the refugee camps with JRS on the one hand, and with other projects in the capital region of Bangkok on the other. But the north of the country has attracted their attention, first in Chang Mai where the Seven Fountains Spiritual Centre is located, but further north still, in the Chiang Rai region, serving the communities in the highlands.
Another article in this series introduces the Xavier Learning Community, an educational project that provides a boarding school environment for indigenous young people for whom access to higher education is difficult. On this very campus, the Society of Jesus has been developing a specific programme for Thai seminarians and members of religious congregations in Thailand for the past five years. This is the Xavier Immersion Program. We interviewed its academic director, the Jesuit Tom Michel, originally from the United States but a member of the Thai Region.
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