.- The Archdiocese of Jakarta is celebrating 200 years of Christian life in Indonesia with celebrations scheduled to run all the way through 2007. The theme, “The more faithful we are to Jesus, the more useful we will be to society and the nation”, will permeate the festivities which include reflections on key elements of the faith, a look at the history of Christianity in Indonesia and discussions on Christian-Muslim relations yesterday and today.
400,000 Catholics currently dwell in the Archdiocese of Jakarta, part of a population of 11 million, who are mostly Muslim.
According to a report from Fides news service, the local church in Jakarta said that the celebrations “present an opportunity to make the faithful more aware of the History of Salvation which the Lord has worked in Jakarta…Commitment in social service - Catholics in Jakarta say - is how we can show God’s love for all humanity.”
The church in Jakarta was born in 1807 with Fr Jacobus Nellissenn’s appointment as Apostolic prefect of then Batavia, in Indonesia.
