法王の来訪控えて…祭服作りや歓迎行事の準備に大忙し　タイ

【バンコクＡＦＰ＝時事】タイでは、ローマ・カトリック教会のフランシスコ法王の20～23日の訪問を前に、あちこちで歓迎の準備が進められている。（写真はローマ・カトリック教会のフランシスコ法王の来訪に備え、裁縫をする修道女。タイ・バンコクのプラハルタイ修道院にて）
　首都バンコクのプラハルタイ修道院では、１０人あまりの修道女や裁縫師らが２か月にわたり、法王や同行する聖職者らのために、最高級の絹布を用いて２００着を超える祭服を仕立てた。完成した最も重要な法王のための２着の祭服は、横に並べて誇らしげに飾られている。
　今回の大役に抜てきされたプラハルタイ修道院は、絹が有名な同国で、何世代にもわたりオーダーメードの祭服を仕立ててきた。
　法王はタイ国王や首相と面会し、二つのミサを司式する。その後来日し、東京、長崎、広島を訪れ、２６日に日本を離れる予定。
　タイのキリスト教信者数は現在約３８万８０００人で、大半が北部に住んでいる。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2019/11/19-08:42）

Sewing machines whir in a Bangkok convent as workers feverishly finish silk robes in brilliant golds and reds, made especially for Pope Francis and his entourage visiting Thailand this month.
The whirlwind November 20-23 trip will see the head of the Catholic Church meet top officials, host masses and visit the Catholic faithful in the Buddhist-majority country.
Seamstresses at the Praharuthai Convent in Bangkok are working hard ahead of the trip to ensure Pope Francis and his bishops, deacons and priests are decked out in the country's finest threads.
I feel happy and very proud that our convent has been selected to do this most honourable job, said Sister Sukanya, who oversees the tailoring.
She and her team of about a dozen seamstresses have been working long days for two months on the more than 200 robes, many stacked neatly in the convent next to round handmade hats.
The two most important pieces -- two matching robes for the pontiff -- are ready to go, displayed proudly side-by-side on a pair of mannequins.
Embroidered with an intricate kanok pattern -- a ubiquitous Thai motif seen on clothing, furniture and artwork -- the custom-made gold and yellow design will be worn by the pope at his first mass on November 21.
The following day he's set to sport a nearly identical robe in red and gold colours.
Thailand is renowned for its silk and the convent was selected for the job because it has been making custom-made religious garments for generations.
For the sisters at Praharuthai Convent, the job is an honour of a lifetime -- and a chance to show off traditional tailoring.
Our Thai style is a beautiful creation, Sister Saengpradab told AFP, as seamstresses hunched under a Jesus statue nearby, measuring, cutting and sewing reams of silk.
It has been nearly four decades since a pontiff visited Thailand, and the trip will mark the 350th anniversary of the first official mission to the country.
The Pope is set to meet Thailand's king and prime minister, hold two masses -- and reunite with his second cousin, who runs a Catholic girls' school there.
Today the country's 388,000-strong Christian community makes up an estimated one percent of the population, the majority residing in the north.
After Thailand, Francis will travel to Japan until November 26, where he will visit Tokyo, Nagasaki, and Hiroshima.
Since Francis' election six years ago, he has made two trips to Asia, visiting the Philippines and Sri Lanka in 2014, followed by Myanmar and Bangladesh in 2017.