Fifteen priests and one deacon ordained in the dioceses of Tanjungkarang and Jakarta (photos-Video)

by Mathias Hariyadi

In St Joseph parish in Pringsewu, over 200 priests and thousands of faithful attended the service in which ten new fathers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus made their perpetual profession. “Your vital mission is to bring peace and spiritual comfort to others,” Bishop Harun told them. The meeting with a parish priest and a father’s encouragement helped the vocation of two new Jakarta priests.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) – In the last eight days, two Indonesian dioceses – one on the island of Sumatra and the other on the island of Java – celebrated the ordination of 15 priests and a deacon.

One ceremony was held on Tuesday at St Joseph parish in Pringsewu, a village about 40 kilometres from Bandarlampung, capital of Lampung province.

Led by Mgr Yohanes Harun Yuwono, Bishop of Tanjungkarang, the service attracted over 200 priests and thousands of faithful who joyfully participated in the ordination of a deacon and in the profession of perpetual vows by ten new Fathers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (SCJ).

In his homily, Mgr Harun reminded them that "you are called to become religious people by consecrating your whole life to God and His Church. Your vital mission is to bring peace and spiritual comfort to others. Where there are consecrated persons, there must be both peace and joy.”

Fr Titus Waris Widodo, provincial SCJ superior, added: "You are called to show your loyalty, the basic spirit of the Congregation, and to be honest with your own conscience".

On 15 August, at the Indonesian Miniature Compound (TMII), the Archbishop of Jakarta, Mgr Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, presided over the ordination (see video) of three diocesan priests and two Salesians (SDB).

The group included Fr Albertus Monang Rianto Sidabutar, who told AsiaNews that his vocation "flourished" thanks to his activities at the St Arnoldus Janssen parish in Bekasi, West Java regency.

"I was personally and emotionally impressed by my parish priest who acted as ‘man for others’ with a smiling face and kind-hearted deeds," he said.

Fr Joseph Biondi Mattovano is also a new priest. His father played a key role in his vocation. "When I was a child, every time Dad took me to church, he always challenged me: ‘Do you want to become a priest?’"

“At the time, I wanted to become a pilot; hence, I didn't pay attention to him. Later, when I was a teenager, I began to actively participate in parish life, as an altar boy. That’s how my desire was born.”

(Fr Frans de Sales, SCJ contributed to this article. Photo credit: Fr Frans de Sales, Fr Joseph Biondi Mattovano, Fr Prasetyo, SDB. Video credit: Commission for Social Communications of the Archdiocese of Jakarta.)