ASIA/INDONESIA - Indonesia prepares for the visit of Pope Francis with the inauguration of the 'Tunnel of Fraternity' that connects the Cathedral and Mosque.

By Paolo Affatato

Jakarta (Agenzia Fides) - Pilgrims have not yet walked the "Tunnel of Fraternity", as it has been nicknamed, because it will be officially inaugurated this autumn. But the work is already finished and all that remains is to open it to the public and to the Christian and Muslim faithful, who are already enthusiastic. This is the underground passage that connects the Catholic cathedral of Jakarta with the Istiqlal mosque, a building located in front of the Christian temple.
In the heart of the Indonesian capital, in the heart of Independence Square - a place of great value for national identity - the two imposing structures look at each other benevolently from very close, almost reflecting each other, the result of an architectural choice and urban planning that, from the beginning, intended to signify and symbolize a common purpose, the vision of a coexistence rooted in the Indonesian nation.
This vision was reinforced by the construction and restoration of that underpass (originally a simple road underpass), which, thanks to the idea of Indonesian President Joko Widodo - now president of the outgoing government, who will leave this autumn to his successor, the recently elected Prabowo Subianto, has become the symbol of an osmosis, of a continuous exchange of visits, of a path of human and spiritual friendship that, ultimately, characterizes the face of the great metropolis and of the entire vast and plural Indonesian society.

First came the cathedral, a neo-Gothic building built in the first half of the 19th century after the General Commissioner of Batavia (the former name of Jakarta) of the Dutch East India Company gave the land to build a Catholic church, which in 1829 received the name "Our Lady of Assumption." Due to some structural problems, the building was rebuilt in the last decade of the century: between 1891 and 1901, Father Antonius Dijkmans, SJ, was in charge of the new architectural structure and, thanks to the contribution of the architect M.J. Hulswit, the new church of Our Lady of Assumption was consecrated by Monsignor Edmundus Sybrandus Luypen, SJ, vicar apostolic of Batavia, on April 21, 1901. After the recent restoration completed in 2002, the church shows all its splendor and is a meeting point for pilgrims from all over Indonesia. At the end of the right nave, there is a statue of the Piety that is a place of intense prayer. Marta, a teacher in her 40s, tells Fides that she "comes to entrust all her difficulties and sufferings, so that Mary and Jesus can welcome them, giving them comfort and strength." Inside the church there is currently a special "counter", an electronic device that marks "59" on a screen, that is, the days remaining until Pope Francis' visit to the cathedral itself (who will be in Indonesia from September 3 to 5). And watching over the faithful, to the left of the main altar is the statue of 'Mary, mother of all ethnic groups', an image created in 2015 to give the Virgin "more familiar" features to the faithful in Indonesia, adopted later by the Archbishop of Jakarta, Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo, as an emblem of national unity. The Virgin wears a traditional Javanese costume called "kebaya." On her chest she wears the "Garuda Pancasila", a bird that is a traditional symbol of Indonesia, while her head is adorned with a red and white veil, the colors of the Indonesian flag, which also indicate the values of bravery and holiness. On her crown a map of the country is represented, entrusting herself to the protection of Mary and welcoming Pope Francis, asking for her blessing.

The silence inside is offset by the festive bustle outside the church: a school group of children from a Protestant Christian school in North Jakarta, accompanied by parents and teachers, joyfully celebrate their visit to the church and the adjoining museum, a stop on a pilgrimage to the city's holy places. Along with them, the children of the Catholic parish of Saint Dominic of Bekasi (a suburb of the capital), who participate in the "Missionary Childhood" movement, of the local Pontifical Mission Societies, spend a day of spiritual retreat in the complex of the cathedral: their motto is “have faith and give Jesus” to everyone they meet.

Equally crowded, a place of socialization and rest, and for many the destination of a Sunday excursion, is the Istiqlal Mosque, a modern and majestic structure (the largest mosque in Southeast Asia) built to commemorate the independence of Indonesia and called "Istiqlal", which means "independence" or "freedom" in Arabic.
Children, young people, women, the elderly, entire families who have come to have a picnic, spend a moment of relaxation in the large outdoor space of the temple or in its welcoming courtyard, which, with its arcades, offers some shelter from the heat of the dry season. The Muslim faithful, as tradition dictates, leave their shoes and enter the immense prayer room, bowing in prayer on the red carpet that covers the floor, between imposing silver pillars and the dome that encompasses the entire space as far as the eye can see. Although there is no special celebration (the prayer meeting is on Fridays), the loudspeakers play the sermon of the great Imam K.H. Nasaruddin Umar. After receiving the unofficial confirmation, the man could not contain his joy and - surprising both the Government and the Indonesian Episcopal Conference - was the first to announce to the media that Pope Francis was going to visit his temple, where the pontiff will hold a meeting with religious leaders of various confessions. "The message of Pope Francis is also the mission of the Istiqlal mosque, which is to transmit humanity, spirituality and civilization, without distinction of religion, ethnicity, language. "Humanity is one," he said, expressing the expectation and satisfaction of the Muslim community of Jakarta for the arrival of the pontiff.

The idea of building this temple arose in 1949 (after Indonesia's declaration of independence from the Netherlands) from Wahid Hasyim, then "Minister of Religious Affairs." The construction commission was created in 1953, under the supervision of Indonesia's first president, Sukarno, who wanted to build the mosque in Merdeka Square (Independence Square). The president and all members of the government also stressed that the decision to erect the mosque in front of the Jakarta cathedral was intended to symbolize the religious harmony and tolerance inherent in Pancasila, the "Charter of the Five Principles", the national philosophy underlying the Constitution.
That spirit has not been lost at all and can still be seen today when Muslim believers speak with pride of the “silaturahmi tunnel” that connects their house to the Catholic church. The expression is as significant as ever: "silaturahmi", in the Indonesian context and culture - the scholars explain - indicates a form of social interaction through which strong interpersonal relationships are maintained, such as kinship or educational, economic, social and religious ties.
“Silaturahmi,” a term used specifically by Indonesian Muslims, means “the intention to cultivate and nurture a human relationship.”

There is the desire, there is the intention to maintain good relationships, in a "dialogue of life" made of friendly practices, simple gestures and gratuitous benevolence. Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo and the imam cultivate them with daily meekness and empathy, which are expressed in a way that can be expressed through that tunnel, an always open channel that, after the restoration completed in 2022, will allow the flow of faithful, in both directions, to admire the works of the Indonesian architect Sunaryo and the sculptor Aditya Novali. The artist has created bas-reliefs that adorn the walls of the marble-clad passage: two hands that touch to "give an idea of humility generated by the interiority of the soul, so that each one feels the connection and unity," we read in the illustration of the sculpture, created both "positively" (in relief) and "negatively" (with excavation) on the walls of the tunnel. And as the visitor advances along the road where the concentric circles are drawn in granite, "a symbol of hope that gives new light to the path", we discover that Pope Francis will not be able to cross that underpass, a hypothesis ruled out by the authorities for security reasons. But this does not at all affect the atmosphere, the joy, the palpable enthusiasm, both in the Catholic community and on the other side of the street, among the Prophet's people, who smile, ready to welcome and embrace the man dressed in white. (Agenzia Fides, 23/7/2024)

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