Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Fr Willem Pau, pastor at St Joseph's Catholic Church in Yogyakarta (Java), has come to rely on a software programme to list children receiving their First Holy Communion, as well as other formalities, like contacting parents for training sessions or distributing readings. This "official protocol" was used for those who recently received the sacrament on the feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus (Corpus Christi).
In Indonesia, the preparation of festivities, celebrations and sacraments involves both parents and children. Such moments of getting together, praying and communion are key for the preparation and organisation of the ceremony. In the case of First Communions, such activities can require five or six months.
The use of database software is not a common practice in the country, especially as regards to parish registers. However, for Fr Pau this is hardly a problem given his two-year stint at running the Office for Social Communications of the Archdiocese of Semarang. Since January, his parish has used an electronic mailing list to summon parents and children.
"Based on the documentation sent by the families," the clergyman said, "we choose some parents for the offertory, readings and communion preparation." It is a "journey of faith", he explained, designed to involve "the whole family" in preparing children for communion.
This year, 66 children received the sacrament in the Parish of St Joseph in Bintanar. An additional 80 received for the first time the body of Christ, in correspondence with the feast of Corpus Christi, in the Parish of Christ the King in Baciro (Yogyakarta).