Archbishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana

Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana is Archbishop of Bangkok, Thailand. Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana was born on 3 October 1955 at Sam Saem, in the Archdiocese of Bangkok. He entered the diocesan minor seminary of Bangkok after attending middle and upper classes. He then followed philosophy and theology courses at Lux Mundi National Major Seminary in Sampran. He was ordained a priest on 7 June 1981 and incardinated in the Archdiocese of Bangkok. In 1984 he obtained a teaching degree at the state university of Nakhorn Pathom. He held the following positions: in 1981, parochial vicar of Saint Peter at Sampran; in 1981-1985, vice rector of the diocesan minor seminary of Bangkok; in 1985-1988, studies for the licentiate in Youth Ministry and Catechesis at the Salesian University in Rome while residing at the Pontifical College of Saint Peter; in 1988-1989, head of the diocesan office for catechesis; from 1989, director of the diocesan catechetical center in Bangkok; in 1989-1990, parochial vicar at Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Din Daeng; in 1990-1998, chaplain of Saint Joseph's Convent School in Bangkok; and, from 2001, ordinary lecturer at Lux Mundi National Major Seminary in Sampran.