Masses, pilgrimages and festivals to celebrate 125 years of the Catholic mission in Sumba
Weetebula (AsiaNews) - Hundreds of Catholics in the Diocese of Weetebula, Sumba Island (East Nusa Tenggara Province), in eastern Indonesia have recently celebrated the 125th anniversary of establishment of the first Catholic mission in the area as well as the 68th international day dedicated to social communications.
The activities involved outdoor Masses, Eucharistic adoration, simple street festivals full of enthusiasm and participation, and a pilgrimage to the places where the first missionaries planted the seed of faith. For Catholics, who are a minority in the largely Protestant region, these two events have been particularly important.
Sumba Island is divided in four districts with a population of 644,000 people, 22.2 per cent or 143,000 are Catholic who come under the Diocese of Weetebula. A majority of local residents (60.8 per cent or 391,000) are Protestant. Unlike the rest of the country, Muslims are a small minority. Some small tribal groups still practice a traditional religion called Marapu.
Many of the Catholics living in the Diocese of Weetebula, which has 24 parishes, are migrants from Flores, Java and other provinces of Indonesia.
Although just over a fifth of the overall population, the local Catholic community is very dynamic as indicated by the large number of vocations recorded in recent years.
In Sumba, vocations are rising rapidly with more than 80 people attending the Major Redemptorist Seminary and at least 40 diocesan priests in Weetebula, a place that still lags behind the rest of the country because of its poor infrastructure, roads, transportation and services.
The Holy See established the Apostolic Prefecture in 1959, which ten years later became the Diocese. At present, Mgr Edmund Woga, a Redemptorist, is responsible for pastoral care, after replacing Bishop Gerulfus Kherubim Pareira (SVD) in 2008.
More than 150 people, some of whom from the Dioceses of Jakarta, Pontianak and Sanggau (province of West Kalimantan), attended the celebrations.
Those present learnt about the island's early Catholic mission, founded by two Jesuit missionaries of German origin - Frs Schweitz and Busch - accompanied on their journey by eight Catholics from the island of Flores.
The pilgrims visited the original site where the Jesuits landed for the first time. Here they celebrated a simple Mass full of symbols. On Sumba, the first permanent place of worship dates back to 1889. Through turbulent times, it has grown and this year it celebrates 125 years of existence.
Verbite priests ran the mission until 1957, when a group of Redemptorist Fathers paved the way for other congregations and religious orders of men and women.
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim (Sunni) nation in the world (86 per cent Muslim). Although it upholds constitutional principles of basic personal freedoms (including religious freedom), it has increasingly become the scene of violence and abuse against minorities.
Christians represent 5.7 per cent of the population with Catholics just over 3 per cent. Hindus are 1.8 per cent; and 3.4 per cent profess other religions.
The constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but Christians have suffered from acts of violence and abuse, especially where extremist versions of Islam, like in Aceh, are entrenched.
Despite everything, Catholics are an active component in society. Over the years, they have contributed to the nation's development and played a major role in emergency operations, as was the case during the devastating floods of January 2013.
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