Fr. Bruno is the current novice master in Novitiate in Jakarta and the vice-regional of the Indonesian Province. He shares with us some thoughts on this 50th Anniversary. At present there are 33 professed and 43 non-professed Indonesians in our formation communities, with 5 priests and 69 Xaverians present in missions scattered throughout the archipelago.
few years back, Fr. Mario Boggiani, a Xaverian veteran from China and Indonesia,
in a very personal sharing thanked God for two things: for communism in China,
which opened the doors for the Xaverians to do mission work in other parts of
the world. And secondly for the two
decrees of 1978 by the Minister for religious Affairs of Indonesia, which closed
Indonesia to all missionaries thus pushing the Xaverians to introspection and
the decision to open the congregation to Indonesian vocations.
One of the beautiful things in our formation program is that the students are well involved in their formation and are very alert to the signs of the times, seeing the necessary shifts in focus and needs. Thanks to the initiative taken by Fr. Ednilson Turozzi a few years back, our philosophy students are involved in inter-religious dialogue, in contact with the real poor in Jakarta
Fr. Boggiani was one of the first 8 missionaries who on July 21 1951 landed in Jakarta straight from China. We are now celebrating 50 years of Xaverian presence in Indonesia. The eight priests were sent to Padang in Central-West Sumatra Island and that was the beginning of a beautiful mission endeavor. The Cappucine Fathers left the whole mission to the Xaverians. Three years later they expanded their vision: from the small group of Chinese in Padang to the Mantaway Islands (West Sumatra) and Riau Province.
These two areas are now dotted with a good number of well-established parishes. Another sign of growth is that these parishes are not only cared for by the Xaverians, but local diocesan priests and Cappucine Fathers. The Mentaway parishes have produced two diocesan priests and a great number of good catechists, who work also in other areas of the Diocese.
A Mentawayan student will start his novitiate year on August 3, 2001. Fr. Boggiani’s thanksgiving to God was well founded: just this month (July_ there was another blessing: Fr. Sudarmanto, s.x. was ordained to the priesthood. He is the 7th Indonesian Xaverian and , Insya Allah (God willing), next year we should have three more ordinations and who knows…!
What started as a long and lively debated vocation program in 1985 is now a reality and the first three Indonesian Xaverians are working in Bangladesh and the Amazons, with our theology students in Manila, Parma, and Chicago as well!
One of the beautiful things in our formation program is that the students are well involved in their formation and are very alert to the signs of the times, seeing the necessary shifts in focus and needs. Thanks to the initiative taken by Fr. Ednilson Turozzi a few years back, our philosophy students are involved in inter-religious dialogue, in contact with the real poor in Jakarta (workers and poor Muslims in the North side of the city) and already at work as missionaries teaching groups of university students who are preparing for their baptism into Christ.
The needs of the Indonesian Church have prompted the Xaverians to give a hand in dioceses other than Padang: the Archdiocese of Jakarta, where the Novitiate, Pre-novitiate and Philosophy communities are located; the Archdiocese of Medan (Sumatra Island); and the diocese of Sibolga (Sumatra) where they created a very beautiful Christian community with excellent facilities.
One of the beautiful aspects of the Indonesian Xaverian Community is that several of the Indonesian ethnic groups are represented in it: Mentaway, Chinese, Java, Flores, Minahasa, Batak, Toraja, Bali, Muna.
Our hopes for the future are very positive: the turmoil and political instability which have troubled the last years of this beautiful country have not impacted greatly in our mission. In the late 90’s around 7,000 adults were baptized in Jakarta alone, yet in the year 2000, after the destruction of so many churches, intimidations and sectarian killings, the number of adults who have received baptism was over 10,000. And we Xaverians are a live part of Christ’s beautiful journey in Indonesia.
(From Mission - The Xaverian Way)