Purwokerto: hundreds of children, teachers and priests at a Catholic pride day
Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Hundreds of children, Catholic educators and priests attended the one-day meeting organized in the sub district of Santa Maria Immacolata of Cisumur, belonging to the parish of St. Joseph in Sidareja, Purwokerto Diocese, in central Java. Following the theme "Proud to be Catholic", last week at least 237 young people from the seven parishes of the of Indonesian Diocese held a gathering. They were joined by dozens of teachers and priests from throughout the area (see photo).
Local Catholics welcomed hosting them for the duration of the rally. Participants included
members of the parishes of St.
Joseph Sidareja; St. John Mary
Vianney to Kebumen;
Saint Teresa of Majenang;
Sainat Michael in Gombong; St. John Marie Vianney in Karanganyar; Sacred Heart of Kroya; Sainat Mary Immaculate of Cisumur; Saint
Stephen of Cilacap.
The children of each community gathered in a soccer
field, presenting some performances prepared ahead of the meeting and taking the opportunity
to mingle in the open space.
Interviewed by AsiaNews, the parish
priest of St. Joseph Fr. Christy Mahendra says that
the community has been preparing for the event since
June. Our main aim, says the
priest, is to "strengthen the
morale" of "our Catholic children" in the south of the Diocese of Purwokerto. It is important to the faith formation not only for those attending private Catholic schools, but also for those
who study in public schools and who are "sometimes subject to bullying".
This initiative, adds
Fr. Christy, which aims among other things to instill in children "pride" to profess the Catholic faith, is the
good work of local volunteers who
made the event possible by providing
food, drink and accommodation free of charge. The kids finally wrote about their hopes, dreams, desires on some notes that "were attached
to balloons and released into the
air".
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, Christians represent 5.7 per cent of the population with Catholics just over 3.6 per cent. 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.
27/06/2008
01/08/2017 12:39