Abbot Phra Phromwachirasuthi of Rama 9 Temple Passes Away at Age 89

Disciples mourn the passing of Phra Phromwachirasuthi, abbot of Rama 9 Temple, who died at Chulalongkorn Hospital at the age of 89, 21 days.

On 2 April 2026, it was reported that Phra Phromwachirasuthi (Apiphon Apiphol), abbot of Rama 9 Kanchanapisek Temple, passed away at 05:18 on this day (2 April) at Chulalongkorn Hospital, at the age of 89 years and 21 days.

/Rama 9 Kanchanapisek Temple Facebook pagehas announced the funeral rites for Phra Phromwachirasuthi (Apiphon Apiphol, P.D.5), abbot of Rama 9 Kanchanapisek Temple, Huai Khwang District, Bangkok, and advisor to the 14th - 15th Ecclesiastical Regions (Dhammayut), at the sermon hall of Rama 9 Kanchanapisek Temple, Bangkok.

Friday, 3 April 2026

• 10:00–16:30 — Senior monks, disciples, and Buddhists will offer ceremonial water to the deceased.
• 17:00 — Royal water pouring ceremony, with 10 monks performing merit-making rites.
• 19:00 — Religious ceremony and chanting of the funeral scriptures.

Phra Phromwachirasuthi was born Apiphon Boonsong on 13 March 1937 in Thung Khwang Subdistrict, Kamphaeng Saen District, Nakhon Pathom Province. His father was Mr. Thoop Boonsong and mother Mrs. Moon Boonsong. He completed grade 4 at a local village school, then traveled to Bangkok to ordain as a novice monk on 2 July 1954 at Wat Bowonniwet Vihara, with Somdet Phra Sangharaja Krom Luang Wachirayan Wong as his preceptor.

Upon reaching the age of 20, he was ordained as a monk on 28 July 1957, with Phra Phrommuni (Phin Suwajo) of Wat Bowonniwet Vihara as preceptor. He passed advanced Buddhist studies at the highest level and earned the fifth-level Pali scripture degree. He was promoted to assistant abbot of Wat Bowonniwet Vihara and appointed secretary to Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara and secretary to the Dhammayut Ecclesiastical Chief of Bangkok-Samut Prakan.

In 1987, King Rama IX initiated a project to address water pollution by aerating Bueng Rama 9, land owned by the Crown Property Bureau. The king also ordered the improvement and development of the Bueng Rama 9 community and desired the establishment of a temple. Rama 9 Kanchanapisek Temple was built simply in 1995, and on 1 July 1996, Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara appointed Phra Rajasumonmuni (his ecclesiastical title then) as abbot. Phra Phromwachirasuthi carried out Buddhist duties under the late king’s guidance, maintaining and spreading Buddhism domestically and internationally.

Information from Rama 9 Kanchanapisek Temple Facebook page