File:Bangkok Santa Cruz Catholic Church 1.jpg

English: Santa Cruz Catholic Church is located on the Thonburi bank near Wat Kalayanamitr on SoiKudi Chin, TetsabanSai 1 road, Kalaya subdistrict, BangkokYai district. King Taksin, the Great donated a plot of land to a Christian community (Roman Chatholics), chiefly Portuguese descendants, to build a church to conduct religious rituals since the relocation from Ayutthaya on 14th September, 1769. This church was founded by a French Bishop Jacques Corre who named the church “Santa Cruz, meaning the holy cross. On 14th September of each year, the church will hold a religious ceremony to celebrate the holy cross. It is the only church in Thailand which was approved by the Church of Rome.

This first church was pulled down, and was replaced by a second one by Bishop Pallegoix. The second church was designed with a touch of a Chinese shrine to blend in with the nearby Chinese community. Thus, it has also been called “WatKudi Chin” or “Kadi Chin” since, although the church seen today was a result from the third construction by Father GulielmoKinh Da Cruz, and there were no intricate Chinese art. The church was designed by Father Perraux under supervision of an Italian architect, and was constructed by Chinese workers. The design was in a combination of Neo-Classic and Italian Renaissance with a dome-shaped tower adorned with stucco works. All doors and windows feature a holy cross, symbolizing the name of the church.

The “Kudi Chin” community is the original production source of a famous but rare “Kudi Chin Cake”, an ancient Portuguese dessert from personal recipes created by Thao Thong Kip Ma -a head chef in a royal palace in Ayutthaya period.