An Indonesian priest recalls how Pope Francis’ visit to his country, where Christians are a small but vibrant minority, illustrates his legacy as a Pope of simplicity, close to the peripheries of the Church.
Pope Francis’ visit to Asia and Oceania, in September 2024, remains a symbol of his concern with the peripheries and with Christian communities, however small they might be. At the time Francis visited East Timor and Papua New Guinea, which are majority Christian, but also Indonesia, which is the largest Muslim country in the world in demographic terms.
According to Fr Jack Umbu Warata, provincial of the Redemptorist Fathers in that country, Indonesian authorities and civil society were enthralled by the Pope’s visit, and struck by his simplicity, the priest told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
“Many of my fellow Redemptorists work in very simple parishes, some are very difficult, but his visit showed us the meaning of simplicity. In Indonesia, people were talking about the fact his watch costs eight dollars, and about how the Pope gives us an example of living in simplicity,” the priest said, during a visit to ACN International’s headquarters in Germany.
There are only 7 million Christians in Indonesia, out of a population of 280 million, and although there are problems in some regions, Fr Jack says that the overall atmosphere is positive. “In several places, like in Aceh, it is very difficult for Christians, because they have Shariah rule. But in general, over 80% of the Muslims are very tolerant. That is why dialogue in Indonesia is so important. The Catholic Church tries to have dialogue with our Muslim brothers, and during the Pope’s visit there was also dialogue. A very good example is the friendship tunnel which links the Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in southeast Asia, and the Catholic Cathedral across the road. They built it to show that in Indonesia dialogue and harmony are so important.”
Besides focusing on interreligious dialogue, the Pope’s visit also gave the Indonesian Church strength to face the challenges it has before it, Fr Jack believes. “One of the priorities is poverty. In many places there is poverty, and many Catholics live in poverty. So, we try to preach the Good News, but since the priests and sisters have a voice in society, and the people listen, we also try to tell people how they can improve their living conditions. The second challenge is education, and the third is improving our formation, to help people grow in faith.”
“We understand the meaning of new missions”
Indonesia is an archipelago of over 17,000 islands. Although most of the population is Muslim, there are some islands that are majority Christian, especially in the east. Flores, evangelised by the Portuguese in the 16th Century, boasts the world’s largest seminary, but Sumba, from where Fr Jack originates, had only a small number of Catholics until the mid-20th Century.
“My father is Catholic, and my mother is Protestant, but my grandparents practiced traditional religions. When I was a child, in 1957, the Redemptorists came to our village to preach the Good News. At that time, we were 10,000 Catholics, but after 60 years we have 250,000 Catholics out of a population of 800,000.”
The result, says Fr Jack, is that Indonesia has become a missionary Church. “We understand the meaning of new missions. A long time ago the Europeans came to us, but now the priests from Indonesia are going to Europe. In my congregation we have 45 Indonesian Redemptorists in nine different countries. Mission has a new face! For 60 years you gave us missionaries, and now we are giving back many priests to work for the missions,” he says.
“We have over 80 students at our major seminary in Java; 18 in the novitiate, and 24 postulants. And this is just Redemptorists! So, we are not afraid of a lack of vocations,” the provincial explains.
But although Indonesia may be rich in vocations, it needs help from friends and partners such as ACN to make sure that seminarians get the best education they can. “ACN helps with ongoing formation for our seminarians and priests. Without ACN there are many things that we would not be able to do! When Pope Francis visited, ten of our priests flew to Jakarta, and were able to greet the Pope personally. Some of them had just finished their formation, thanks to ACN,” Fr Jack explains.
ACN has also been helping the Redemptorists in Sumba to build a guesthouse so that they can welcome visitors more comfortably and funds many other projects in Indonesia.
