IT first happened in 1976 when a conference of a “new Christian life” was initially performed in Central Jakarta by Fr. Herbert Sheider, a Jesuit priest from the Philippines.
A devoted Catholic couple joined this event. The pair was Roy and her wife Winny Setjadi. Roy has passed away in 2011.
Months later on, the pair became very active to enthusiastically “induce” this very new kind exercising of “being good catholic” to various groups of catholic congregation.
Two years later, both were invited to Dublin to attend an international charismatic conference. And months later, the pair commenced their personal initiative to disseminate the new kind of “being Catholic” to numerous groups across this huge Indonesian archipelago.
“When their initiative and movement became bigger and very influential to scores of catholic congregations, Jakarta Archbishop –the late Msgr Leo Soekoto SJ—decided to name a Jesuit priest to become our ‘watchdog’ as well as our mentor-cum-motivator. And the name was Father Lambertus van den Heuvel who decided to become Indonesian national by adopting his new Javanese name as Fr. Sugiri,” recalls Mrs. Winny Setjadi to AsiaNews and Sesawi.Net.
Father Sugiri died in Jakarta on 11 June at the age of 90 during his tenure as parish priest in St. Theresia Parish Church in Jakarta’s elite downtown of Menteng in Central Jakarta.
A new way of life as being good catholic
Mrs. Setjadi’sgood memories about Fr. Sugiri dates back to many years when this new kind of way of “being catholic” suddenly became very influential to scores of Catholic elites in Jakarta. Mostly as some certain business catholic people were trying to find new things in expressing their faith in somewhat “different” ways while attending Eucharist celebration.
Instead of being only able to “viewing” the very common regular liturgical protocols without any participation of the congregation to express their faith, they tried another way of contributing themselves though –among others—opening session of personal sharing of faith experience in exchange of not performing the homily by the priest.
Sharp critics coming to light
It was indeed not without sharp critics from both catholic hierarchy and the common “ordinary” catholic congregation.
“But the show must go on,” as Mrs. Setjadi reflects the very influential power shown by Father Sugiri SJ as the first Indonesian priest fully authorized by Jakarta Archbishop to “watchdog” and supervise this new giant catholic charismatic community.
The pilot project of this new phenomenon happened in St Peter and St Paul Parish Church in West Jakarta where at the time Father Sugiri was the chief parish priest.
He was briefed by Jakarta Archbishop Msrg Leo Soekoto SJ to monitor and direct the new movement. This pastoral assignment was told to him in secreto as at the time this new kind of faith ‘expression’ was still considered as very “sensational” and really “shocking gestures” to the whole Indonesian catholic church.
For example, people began to offer shaking hands during the mass or the style of liturgical songs became very “different”.
“Even in St. Peter & St. Paul Mangga Besar Church –my parish church when I was still an altar boy— a social ‘separation’ happened among our catholic congregation in the parish. Between those who supported this new charismatic movement and those who were strongly against this new phenomena,” recalls Fr. Simon L. Tjahjadi, a Germany-graduated diocesan priest and lecturer in STF Driyarkara of Philosophy School to AsiaNews and Sesawi.Net
Accolades
Good memories and accolades straightly go to the late Father Sugiri whose great contribution to develop and guide the Indonesian Charismatic Movement has taken place beyond everybody’s initial expectations.
The priest’s most important legacy in the Catholic Church of Indonesia is the fact that at present thousands of lay catholic people have contributed themselves by offering their capacity and power to the Church in terms of extending the mission of evangelization.
The presence of Shekinah Office in Harmony in West Jakarta is –among others- has been becoming this very influential benchmark of the charismatic movement in Indonesia.
The Shekinah Office has been orchestrated lots of catechesis programs, joy of discovery retreats, personal healing seminars, bible study forum, etc.
And huge number of enthusiasts –both facilitator and followers—has joined this Shekinah Office to execute programs and courses. And these alumni have replicated the movement and programs to different communities in several parishes in so many diocese across the nation.
Father Sugiri was indeed the first initiator of such programs and this is still continued by his successors as today.
A new way of evangelization
FX Rickoloes Pricorianto is a geologist from Bogor Diocese in West Java. At a certain time, he met Fr. Sugiri as he was invited to join his “Joy of Discovery” program as its facilitator. “It is a new method of understanding the Holy Scriptures,” he recalls.
Later on, he also attended the so-called Kursus Pendidikan Kitab Suci (KPPS, the Holy Scriptures Course) as “if we don’t read the Holly Scriptures, then how can we know Jesus,” argues Pricorianto who joined a two-year long course.
Now, he becomes key figure to promote the new habit of reading the Bible in the diocese.
Pricorianto’s is only one example story of how the good seed of evangelization promoted years ago by the late Fr. Sugiri is now becoming a blossoming phenomenon in Indonesia.
Other is the rising phenomena as more and more Catholics –young and adults—to contribute themselves in various platforms of social services, bible study groups and even becoming catechists.
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