Salesians in Indonesia

The Salesian Presence in the World’s Largest Islamic Country

(ANS – Jakarta, Indonesia – Sept. 4, 2024) – As the first stage of his 45th apostolic journey, the longest of his pontificate, Pope Francis chose Indonesia: a country where the Salesians have been present for 34 years and have various works and numerous apostolates at the service of young people – and, as Don Bosco wanted, especially the poorest and neediest.

Indonesia is a Southeast Asian country located between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the largest archipelago state in the world, consisting of over 17,000 islands, many of which are uninhabited, while the largest islands – Java, Borneo, Papua, Sumatra, and Sulawesi (Celebes) – are home to most of the population.

Indonesia is an ethnically diverse country, with about 1,300 distinct native ethnic groups. The government officially recognizes only 6 religious denominations: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Out of a total of about 275,000,000 inhabitants, 86.7% of the population is Muslim (which makes it the country with the largest number of Muslims in the world) and 10.7% are Christians (7.6% Protestants, 3.12% Catholics). In absolute terms, there are about 8.3 million Catholics spread across 39 dioceses.

The Salesians arrived in Jakarta, the capital, in 1985. They lived in a small rented house that was right in front of a mosque. Fr. José Carbonell Llopes was the first director of that house. At the time, the Salesian presence in Indonesia was not aimed at a specific work, but was mainly a basis for the entry of Salesian missionaries into East Timor, which was still under the control of the Indonesian government.

But when the Salesians settled there, many requests for intervention began to arrive. The nearby Strada Technical Institute run by the Jesuits asked the Salesians to celebrate Mass once a month and to administer confession to Catholic students. This was how Salesian vocations in the country began to grow.

For almost 15 years, the attention of the Salesian works and their development remained focused on East Timor. It was not until 1999, when the Indonesian army left East Timor, that the Salesians began to develop a Salesian pastoral work in Indonesia and indeed, after having been for years a provincial delegation in the Indonesian-East Timor Vice Province, in 2018 it was established as an Autonomous Salesian  Vice-Province of Indonesia (INA), dedicated to St. Louis Versiglia.

Today the INA Vice Province comprises 8 Salesian houses, scattered over 3 islands: Blitar, Purwodadi, Surabaya, Tigaraksa, and 2 centers in Jakarta, all on the island of Java; then the house of Sumba, on the island of the same name; finally, Labuan Bajo, on the island of Flores, with a predominantly Catholic population, opened in 2022 at the behest of the rector major, Fr. Angel Fernandez Artime.

On a personal level, INA today is animated by 59 Salesians and has sent several of its men as missionaries to such countries as Ecuador, Brazil, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Paraguay, and Papua New Guinea.

One of the distinctive features of the Salesian mission in Indonesia is vocational formation. The Salesian centers offer courses in English, computer science, motor vehicle maintenance, mechanics, carpentry, welding, management of electrical systems, and other technical courses aimed at helping young people find decent access to the world of work. And these centers have also developed good collaboration with local industries and companies.

The Salesians are known for their work at the service of young people and for the Preventive System they offer in schools, in vocational training centers, in convents, and in all their activities. “Wherever we go, we meet many young people, abandoned and poor,” Salesian Fr. Andre Delimarta told the Salesian Bulletin at the time of his service (today he is a missionary in Malaysia). “These young people are in great need of not only educational and spiritual assistance, but also economic assistance. Many of them come from poor families, from farmers whose livelihood depends on the random conditions of nature. For example, Sumba students pay for school attendance with seeds or animals: goats, pigs, or chickens.”

The presence of the Salesians in Indonesia, which arose in a multi-religious environment and as a Christian minority, is itself a full manifestation of the purpose of their presence: the good of young people, whatever religion they profess.

The future of the Salesians in Indonesia appears bright today: they are appreciated by the people and the local Church, their work is often required not only for technical formation, but also for youth ministry in parishes, to preach retreats for young people, organize activities and seminars, not to mention the many bishops who wait for the Salesians to go to help the young people of their dioceses prepare for the future.

Nor should we forget, among the encouraging factors, the low average age of Indonesian Salesians, and the presence of the Salesian Family, which is slowly growing and which in any case already sees Salesian Cooperators, Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, hundreds of past pupils from different vocational training centers, and some members of the Association of Mary Help of Christians.