Saint Mary is the oldest Cistercian monastery in Indonesia. It grows coffee, runs a dairy and makes bread and pastry, contributing to the community's self-sufficiency. In 1987, Trappist monks established the first female community in Gedono, on the slopes of Mount Merbabu. In 1996, the Abbey of Lamanabi was built on Flores, a predominantly Catholic island.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Two deacons will be consecrated on 28 June in the Trappist Monastery of Saint Mary in Rawaseneng (Central Java), years after the last ordinations.
Daniel Naruh and Julius Darwanto (picture 1) will be ordained priests in a private ceremony led by Mgr Robertus Rubiyatmoko, archbishop of Semarang, in the presence of a few guests, this according to Fr Anton, spokesman for the community.
Daniel Naruh, 43, is originally from Lampung, a province on the island of Sumatra (Sumatera), whilst Julius Darwanto 42, was born in Jakarta. Both made perpetual vows in 2011. Mgr Rubiyatmoko celebrated their diaconal ordination on 14 April (picture 2).
Founded on 1st April 1953 as the Indonesian branch of the Koningshoeven Abbey in Tilburg (The Netherlands), Saint Mary's is the oldest Cistercian monastery in Indonesia.
In addition to the monks' residence, the compound includes a church, a prayer garden and a retreat home. Here monks grow coffee, run a dairy and make bread and pastry, thus contributing to the economic self-sufficiency of the community, in accordance with the Rule of Saint Benedict.
Not far from the monastery are the Saint Mary and Saint Joseph Parish Church as well as the Fatima kindergarten and primary school, run by Dominican nuns.
In 1987, the Cistercian Order established the first female community in Gedono, on the slopes of Mount Merbabu, near Salatiga (Central Java).
Like all Trappists, the nuns of Gedono are dedicated to a life of contemplation and manual labour. They make jams, syrups, confectionery and religious material, which they then sell to the public.
The monks of Lamanabi Abbey make instead candles. Their monastery was built in 1996 on the "Catholic" island of Flores (East Nusa Tenggara), which comes under the Diocese of Larantuka.