The Indonesian Province has been graced with two new priests and three new deacons. On 27 July, the province celebrated the ordination to the priesthood of Fr Paulus Hastra Kurdani SJ and Fr Yohanes Harry Kristanto SJ, and the ordination to the diaconate of Deacons Agustinus Daryanto SJ, Antonius Siwi Dharma Jati SJ, and Yulius Suroso SJ.

The Bishop of Purwokerto, Most Rev Christophorus Tri Harsono, along with several members of the curia of the Archdiocese of Semarang, presided over the ceremonies that lasted two and a half hours in the Church of St Antonius Padua in Yogyakarta.

The gradual decline in Covid-19 cases in Indonesia meant that many Jesuit priests, scholastics, brothers, religious sisters, collaborators, and the families and relatives of the ordinands were able to attend the ordination. The ordinands chose “Loving more and following Christ as our Companion” as their ordination theme.

In his homily, Bishop Harsono reminded the newly ordained and the Jesuits in the congregation that being a Jesuit priest is not about having superficial attributes like popularity or fame. The core essence of being a Jesuit priest is to faithfully and wholeheartedly carry out the three tasks of Christ, namely, as priest, prophet, and king. This, the bishop said, is what our world needs today. He cautioned them against being mediocre priests and urged them to make themselves constantly available for any mission, to be faithful to their vocation, and to never leave the priesthood. He said that “loving more and following Christ as our Companion” means being humble, being able to listen to others, to teach and to be open to being taught, and, most importantly, to serve others.

After the Eucharist, all guests were invited to a simple reception at Kolese Santo Ignatius. The band from de Britto High School performed along with the youth of St Antonius Padua Parish. The Rector, Fr Aria Dewanto SJ, performed a duet of Hidup ini adalah Perjuangan (Life is a Struggle) and Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Troops) with local artist Teras Kamar dedicated specially to the newly ordained priests and deacons.

Fr Paulus Hastra Kurdani SJ, who is from Yogyakarta, has been missioned to Jakarta as moderator of Canisius Junior High School, while Fr Yohanes Harry Kristanto SJ, who is from Sumatera, will serve as Associate Parish Priest at St Robertus Bellarminus Parish in Jakarta. Deacons Agustinus Daryanto SJ from Central Java and Yulius Suroso SJ from Yogyakarta will be finishing their licentiate in theology at Fakultas Teologi Wedabhakti at Sanata Dharma University, and Deacon Antonius Siwi Dharma Jati SJ also from Yogyakarta will spend a year at St Theresia Parish in Jakarta while preparing for special studies.