ASIA/INDONESIA - The history of Catholic Missions in the Indonesian Archipelago

Jakarta (Agenzia Fides) - In the history of the mission of the Catholic Church in Indonesia, for two centuries (1605-1807) there was no Catholic priest or missionary on the thousands of islands of the archipelago, where Portuguese missionaries had already arrived at the beginning of the 16th century. Among them was Saint Francis Xavier, who brought the Gospel to the Moluccas in 1546.
The 200-year absence of Catholic missionaries was due to hostilities and disputes between the Christian communities in Europe, which also affected the colonies. This is documented by Father Armada Riyanto (CM) in his essay entitled "The Catholic Mission in Indonesia and Propaganda Fide. A Historical Overview" (published in the 'Hong Kong Journal of Catholic Studies', issue No. 14 2023).

With the arrival of the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, VOC), founded in 1602, all Catholic priests were expelled from Indonesia, some even killed. The remaining Catholics, according to Father Armada Riyanto, rector of the ‘Widya Sasana’ School of Philosophy and Theology in Malang (East Java) in his essay, were registered as Calvinist Christians, and the existing Catholic churches were closed or converted into Calvinist Protestant churches. The Catholic parishes in the Moluccas were dissolved, and for example the thriving Catholic parish in Ambon was converted into a Protestant parish.
On islands like Flores, the baptized Catholics continued to pray and live in their faith received from the Portuguese missionaries for 200 years, despite having no Catholic priest. The Jakarta Cathedral History Museum calls this an ‘underground church’ that lasted for 200 years. "This only happened because of a miracle of the Holy Spirit," said Father Armada Riyanto. The Dutch VOC was not just a trading association. For two centuries it was a political instrument and also waged "religious wars" in the colonies, as was the case in Europe. It was not until the end of the 17th century that it failed due to corruption and was dissolved.

The intervention of Propaganda Fide
A royal edict of 1807 established that the provisions in force in the Union of Utrecht since January 20, 1579, which recognized Calvinism as the only legitimate faith, were no longer valid. This also applied in the Dutch East Indies. In the same year, 1807, the "Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide" established the first "Apostolic Prefecture" in Indonesia, with the first Apostolic Prefect J. Nelissen. In 1841, the Apostolic Prefecture of Batavia (now Jakarta) was established as the Apostolic Vicariate of Batavia. Before 1600, only Portuguese or Spanish Catholic missionaries were active, but after 1800 Catholic missionaries came from the Netherlands (a Protestant kingdom) and also from other Countries.
The Dutch missionaries who came to the East Indies after 1800, however, were "bound" to colonial regulations and remained subject to the political authorities of the colonial government, which financially supported the missionaries' expenses and activities.

The Groof Case
With the so-called "Groof Case" of 1845, missionary work was decoupled from colonial strategies. Bishop Jakobus Grooff was the first Apostolic Vicar of Batavia (1842-1846). J.J. Rochussen was the Governor-General who represented the political power of the Dutch government in Indonesia (1845-1851).
When he arrived in Batavia on April 1, 1845, he immediately noticed the "irregularities" committed by some priests in the vicariate and that same year he suspended four priests. When Rochussen learned of the "suspension" of the Catholic priests, he ruled that the bishop could not suspend priests who had received a letter of credential from the colonial authority, since their actions were guaranteed by the government.
According to Rochussen, only the government could "dismiss" or transfer Catholic priests, since they were sent to the Dutch East Indies by the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands at the expense of the State.

When he was summoned by the governor on January 19, 1846, Bishop Grooff again asserted his authority over the priests in the area. He was then ordered to leave the Dutch East Indies within 14 days. In the following years, Propaganda Fide contacted the Dutch authorities to enable the work of the Catholic mission in Indonesia to be made possible again: in 1854 it was agreed that a “special permit” for the clergy would be required; the Holy See undertook to inform the Governor General of the places where priests and missionaries were sent and the Governor-General would not interfere in matters reserved for ecclesiastical authority. The Catholic missionaries had limited freedom of movement, also to avoid conflict with other Protestant missionaries. They were also prohibited from baptizing the locals and under these conditions the number of baptized grew very slowly. In Surabaya, for example, after almost a hundred years of missionary presence (1810-1900), there were only ten Javanese Catholics.

The Jesuits
The priests sent were mostly diocesan priests, until one day the then Apostolic Vicar of Batavia, Petrus Vranken, asked the Jesuit Provincial to take over the mission in the Dutch East Indies. The first Jesuits arrived in Surabaya in 1859. In Central Java, the Catholic mission received a decisive boost through the missionary work of Father Franciscus Georgius Josephus van Lith (1863 - 1926), a Jesuit who founded several schools and was the first to preach the Gospel to the natives of Java and is remembered as a great educator. In 1904, Father van Lith baptized a total of 158 Javanese. His schools became a symbol of the missionary work of the Catholic Church. These schools were also attended by Albertus Soegijapranata (SJ), who would later become the first native bishop of Indonesia.
In the following years, the movement to fight for independence was also closely linked to the work of the Catholic educational mission. Several leaders of the nationalist movement came from Catholic schools.

In 1924, the Apostolic Vicars of Indonesia (then in Jakarta, Kalimantan, Nusa Tenggara and Maluku-Irian) and the Apostolic Prefects met for the first time to discuss the situation of the Church in the area. The meeting was held in the Cathedral of Batavia (Jakarta) and marked the beginning of the assembly of the future "Indonesian Bishops' Conference". Among the issues discussed was the abolition of Article 123 of the Regulations of 1854, which prevented missionaries from going anywhere they wanted to preach the Gospel. Seminaries were established for the training of local clergy, and the missionaries established many schools in villages and towns. It was said that Catholic missionaries should learn the language and become familiar with the local culture.
By establishing their schools, the missionaries came into contact with the local communities. Village chiefs or local religious leaders helped them establish and run community schools. The missionaries became familiar with Javanese culture. Thus, the Catholic missions became more and more "Javanese" and less "European".

During the Japanese occupation (1942-1945) during World War II, this process slowed down. The missionaries were held in concentration camps. In several areas, the lands of the vicariate were occupied and many chapels were demolished. After the end of the war, the mission resumed by starting to rebuild what had been wiped out and destroyed in the previous years.

The Papal Bull "Quod Christus" 1961 was the year in which the Catholic Church in Indonesia finally became the "Indonesian Church", thanks to the Bull "Quod Christus Adorandus" of Pope John XXIII, which established the Catholic hierarchy and elevated the ecclesiastical districts in Indonesia to dioceses. Courses for higher education in pastoral disciplines and catechesis for lay people have been set up, and institutes for philosophical and theological formation were founded in Java, Flores, Sumatra, Timor and other islands.
The Indonesian Church (today, according to the Bishops' Conference, there are about 10 million baptized Catholics in the dioceses) is still a "young Church". Since the 1960s, it has developed in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council. Catholics are integrated into the cultures of Indonesia and are now recognized as an integral part of the country. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 5/9/2024)

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