View source for Michael Michai Kitbunchu

{{Short description|Thai cardinal}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Cardinal
| honorific-prefix = [[His Eminence]]
| name = {{unbulleted list|Michael Michai Kitbunchu|ไมเกิ้ล มีชัย กิจบุญชู}}
| honorific-suffix = 
| title = [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|Cardinal]], [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bangkok|Archbishop Emeritus of Bangkok]]
| image = 50ycardinalmichai-05.png
| caption = Cardinal Kitbunchu in 2023
| province = 
| diocese = 
| see = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bangkok|Bangkok]]
| appointed = 18 December 1972
| term_start = 3 June 1973
| term_end = 14 May 2009
| predecessor = Joseph Khiamsun Nittayo
| successor = [[Kriengsak Kovitvanit|Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij]]
| ordination = 20 December 1959
| ordained_by = [[Gregorio Pietro Agagianian]]
| consecration = 3 June 1973
| consecrated_by = Joseph Khiamsun Nittayo
| cardinal = 2 February 1983
| created_cardinal_by = [[Pope John Paul II]]
| rank = Cardinal-Priest
| other_post = [[San Lorenzo in Panisperna|Cardinal-Priest of San Lorenzo in Panisperna]]
| birth_name = 
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1929|01|25|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Amphoe Sam Phran|Sam Phran]], [[Nakhon Pathom Province|Nakhon Pathom]], Thailand
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| buried = 
| nationality = 
| religion = [[Roman Catholic]]
| residence = 
| parents = {{unbulleted list|Joseph Yuhong Kitbunchu (deceased)|Maria Klueab Kitbunchu (deceased)}}
| spouse = 
| children = 
| occupation = 
| profession = 
| alma_mater = 
| motto = Through the Cross to light (''Per crucem ad lucem'')
| signature = 
| coat_of_arms = Coat of arms of Michael Michai Kitbunchu.svg
}}
'''Michael Michai Kitbunchu''' ({{langx|th|ไมเกิ้ล มีชัย กิจบุญชู}}, {{IPA|th|māj.kɤ̂l mīː.t͡ɕʰāj kìt.būn.t͡ɕʰūː, māj.kɤ̂ɫ-, māj.kɤ̂n-|pron}}; born 25 January 1929) is a Thai prelate of the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. He served as Archbishop of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bangkok|Bangkok]] from 1973 to 2009 and was made a [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|cardinal]] in 1983. He has been the [[Protopriest]] of the [[College of Cardinals]] since 14 December 2016. He is the first cardinal from Thailand. He was president of the Thai Episcopal Conference from 1979 to 1982 and from 2000 to 2006.

==Early life and ministry==
Kitbunchu was born in [[Amphoe Sam Phran|Sam Phran]], a district of the [[Nakhon Pathom Province]], to a family of Chinese descent and studied at the [[minor seminary]] of [[Amphoe Si Racha|Si Racha]].<ref>{{cite news |date=5 May 2006 |url=http://www.speroforum.com/site/print.asp?idarticle=3507 |title=Bangkok's Chinese-Thai Catholics want Chinese Mass |work=Spero News |access-date=3 July 2016 |archive-date=10 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510101212/http://www.speroforum.com/site/print.asp?idarticle=3507 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He then furthered his studies at the [[Pontifical Urbaniana University]] in Rome, where he obtained a [[Licentiate (degree)|licentiate]] in both philosophy and [[Licentiate of Sacred Theology|theology]].<ref name=vatican>{{cite news|work=[[Holy See]]|title=KITBUNCHU Card. Michael Michai|url=https://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/documentazione/documents/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_kitbunchu_mm_en.html}}</ref> While in Rome, he was [[Holy orders|ordained]] to the priesthood by Cardinal [[Grégoire-Pierre Agagianian]] on 20 December 1959.

He returned to [[Thailand]] and served as [[Curate|assistant pastor]] and then pastor in Bang Kham, and later became pastor of Calvary Parish in [[Bangkok]].<ref name=vatican/> He was also an [[Archdiocese|archdiocesan]] [[consultor]] and served as [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]] of the metropolitan [[seminary]] of Bangkok from 1965 to 1972.

==Episcopal career==
On 18 December 1972, [[Pope Paul VI]] appointed Kitbunchu the second Archbishop of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bangkok|Bangkok]]. He received his [[Bishop (Catholic Church)|episcopal consecration]] on 3 June 1973 from Archbishop Joseph Khiamsun Nittayo, with Bishops Lawrence Thienchai Samanchit and Michel-Auguste–Marie Langer, [[Paris Foreign Missions Society|MEP]], serving as [[Consecrator|co-consecrators]]. He served as President of the Thai [[Episcopal Conference]] from 1979 to 1982, and again from 2000 to 2006.<ref name=vatican/>

[[Pope John Paul II]] created him [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|Cardinal-Priest]] of [[San Lorenzo in Panisperna]] in the [[Papal consistory|consistory]] of 2 February 1983; he was the first cardinal from Thailand.{{cn|date=January 2023}} Kitbunchu was one of the [[Cardinal electors in Papal conclave, 2005|cardinal electors]] who participated in the [[Papal conclave, 2005|2005 papal conclave]] that selected [[Pope Benedict XVI]]. He denied [[funeral Masses]] to drug traffickers, saying that such people "destroy society" and engage in "acts of indirect murder."<ref name=drug>{{cite news|date=9 May 2003|work=UCA News|title=Cardinal Tells Priests to Deny Funerals to Drug Traffickers |url=http://www.ucanews.com/story-archive/?post_name=/2003/05/09/cardinal-tells-priests-to-deny-funeral-mass-to-drug-traffickers&post_id=22422 }}</ref> He once expressed his [[Anti-abortion movements|opposition to abortion]] by saying, "Abortion is a great crime, because the one who should protect the child in her womb becomes the one who destroys the child."<ref name=conclave>{{cite news|date=14 April 2005|work=Asia News |title=Michai Kitbunchu, first cardinal from Thailand|url=http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=3038&dos=50&size=A}}</ref>

During the [[2005–2006 Thai political crisis|2006 political crisis]] in his Thailand, Kitbunchu called for unity, saying, "All Thai people are patriotic and want the country to progress and develop on all fields, but now the political crisis has disturbed and worried the people." He also asked Thais to "correct what is wrong and forgive each other."<ref name=chaos>{{cite news|date=24 March 2006| work=UCA News|title=Five Religious Leaders Call For Unity in Time of Political Chaos |url=http://www.ucanews.com/story-archive/?post_name=/2006/03/24/five-religious-leaders-call-for-unity-in-time-of-political-chaos&post_id=27076}}</ref>

Kitbunchu resigned from his position as Archbishop of Bangkok on 14 May 2009. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest active head of an [[archdiocese]] in the [[Latin Church]]. In addition to his native language, [[Thai language|Central Thai]] (official and national) and his [[Varieties of Chinese|ethnic Chinese dialect]] of [[Teochew dialect|Teochew]], he can also speak other languages such as [[Latin]], English, Italian, French and Standard [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]].<ref name=vatican/>

[[File:มีชัย กิจบุญชู.jpg|thumb]]

From the death of [[Roger Etchegaray]] in 2019, Kitbunchu and [[Alexandre do Nascimento]] were tied as the longest-tenured members of the College of Cardinals, both having been appointed in 1983. After do Nascimento's death on September 28, 2024, Kitbunchu became the sole longest-tenured member of the College.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{commons category}}
*{{cite web| access-date = 24 October 2017| title= Kitbunchu Card. Michael Michai |publisher= [[Holy See Press Office]] | url = https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_kitbunchu_mm.html | url-status=live | archive-date= 4 September 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170904070526/https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/documentation/cardinali_biografie/cardinali_bio_kitbunchu_mm.html }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=Joseph Khiamsun Nittayo}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bangkok|Archbishop of Bangkok]]|years=18 December 1972 – 14 May 2009}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kriengsak Kovitvanit]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Antonio Caggiano]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[San Lorenzo in Panisperna|Cardinal Priest of San Lorenzo in Panisperna]]|years=2 February 1983 –}}
{{s-inc|rows=2}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Paulo Evaristo Arns]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Protopriest|Cardinal Protopriest]]|years=14 December 2016 –}}
{{s-end}}<!--
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{{Cardinals of the Catholic Church|state=collapsed}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitbunchu, Michael Michai}}
[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Thai cardinals|Michael Michai Kitbunchu]]
[[Category:Thai people of Chinese descent|Michael Michai Kitbunchu]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Thailand]]
[[Category:21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Thailand]]
[[Category:Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II]]
[[Category:Pontifical Urban University alumni]]
[[Category:People from Nakhon Pathom province|Michael Michai Kitbunchu]]