Indonesia Is One of the World’s Biggest Sources of Catholic Priests

Asia Pacific|Once, Catholic Priests Came to Indonesia. Now, It Exports Them.

On an Indonesian land astir 500 miles eastbound of Bali, an open-air motortruck traversed up winding roads 1 caller Sunday. It was taking dozens of jovial men, immoderate already successful achromatic robes, and their songbooks and guitars to nan religion connected apical of nan hill.

The men are training to go Catholic priests. While astir apt only a fraction of them will spell connected to beryllium ordained, Indonesia — nan world’s largest Muslim-majority state — is producing truthful galore priests now that galore of them caput overseas to service nan faithful.

For centuries, this postulation flowed successful nan other direction, pinch Catholic missionaries from Europe heading to nan islands of Indonesia.

The Roman Catholic Church knows really important Indonesia and galore countries successful nan Global South are to its future. Two years ago, Pope Francis declared that to find vocations “we will spell to immoderate land of Indonesia.” He did not specify nan destination, but he almost surely meant nan land of Flores, wherever 70 percent of nan astir 2 cardinal residents are Catholic.