New International Youth Training Center opens in Thailand

A Thailand bishop blessed the Holy Trinity Chapel and International Youth Training Center (IYTC) in Doikaew, Chomthong, Chiang Mai, Thailand, on June 4.

Bishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana of the Diocese of Chiang Mai blessed the chapel and the center in the presence of Father Jojo M. Fung, advisor of Pax Romana (Roman peace)—International Movement of Catholic Students—Asia Pacific, and other guests.

Fung is a Malaysian Jesuit priest teaching at the Loyola School of Theology in Manila, Philippines. The Dicastery of Laity, Family, and Youth appointed him as an international chaplain of Pax Romana in July 2020.

Addressing the gathering of young people and guests, Fung thanked the donors, supporters, and friends for constructing the chapel and the center.

In his address, Bishop Arpondratana said that the chapel and IYTC would serve young people in Asia and the Pacific to facilitate their training, reflection, and prayer.

Pax Romana, an international lay Catholic movement, was established in 1921. It has two movements: the International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS) and the International Movement for Intellectual and Cultural Affairs (ICMICA).

IMCS, a global association of students at Catholic universities, trains Christian leaders dedicated to creating new social systems that uphold human dignity. The members work on social, economic, and cultural liberation and development.

Members participate in developing and organizing church support for global justice, social analysis, and figuring out how to adapt colleges to the needs of individuals and society at large. They are expected to represent Christian principles in society's scholarly, artistic, and social life.

The Secretariat of the Pax Romana, the International Movement of Catholic Students in the Asia Pacific, is in Las Pinas, Metro Manila, Philippines. -Santosh Digal