Medan mourns Monsignor Datubara, the first face of the Church among the Batak people

The first priest and then also the first bishop from this ethnic group in North Sumatra, he died at the age of 91. He led the archdiocese for 33 years from 1976 to 2009, fostering the growth of a deeply inculturated Catholic community. A friend and hope of the poor, he was already very attentive to environmental issues twenty years ago.

Medan (AsiaNews) - The Catholic Church in Indonesia is mourning the death of Msgr. Alfred Gonti Pius Datubara, a Capuchin friar and archbishop emeritus of Medan, in the province of North Sumatra, who passed away on 17 October at the age of 91. He was a particularly important figure for the community, having been the first priest and the first bishop of Batak origin, the local indigenous ethnic group.

During his 33 years of service as archbishop of Medan, from 1976 to 2009, Msgr. Pius Datubara was widely recognised as the founder of the local Church in the province of North Sumatra. His episcopate was marked by extraordinary growth: at the time of his retirement in 2009, the Archdiocese of Medan had 47 parishes, over 1,300 mission stations and more than 500,000 Catholics. It was a large community served mostly by local clergy, including Batak Capuchin priests and members of various religious institutes.

Monsignor Datubara was born in Lawe Bekung, in the south-eastern province of Aceh, on 12 February 1934, the fourth of eight children of Pietro Datubara and Luisa Sihombing, pioneers among Batak Catholic migrants in the Alas region. His father, a devout catechist, prayed constantly that one of his sons would become a priest. In 1951, Gonti entered the minor seminary in Padang and then continued his formation in Pematangsiantar. Of the 17 students in his class, he was the only one to persevere until his ordination to the priesthood in 1964 by Monsignor Antoine Henri Ferrerius van den Hurk, then bishop of Medan, in front of more than 10,000 faithful of the Batak Catholic community.

After serving in various parishes and at the Cathedral of Medan, he continued his studies in missiology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (1967–1968). On 24 May 1976, Pope Paul VI appointed him Archbishop of Medan, making him the first Batak bishop. His episcopal motto, Omnibus Omnia (‘I have become all things to all people’, 1 Corinthians 9:22), was more than a slogan: it represented the guiding spirit of his life. "He devoted himself to the poor and marginalised, transforming all Catholic primary schools into diocesan institutions to ensure that no Catholic child was deprived of education. He also supported the founding of St Thomas Catholic University in Medan," Felix Sitorus, a former seminarian, recalls to AsiaNews. A true Franciscan, he invited numerous religious orders to serve in the province of North Sumatra, opening schools, hospitals, orphanages and training centres.

Deeply sensitive to environmental issues, he participated in the Porsea protests (2003) against ecological destruction near Lake Toba, many years before Pope Francis published the encyclical Laudato Si' (2015). Among the poor, Bishop Datubara was known as ‘the bishop of last hope.’ His residence in Jalan Imam Bonjol, Medan, was always open to anyone in need. Numerous testimonies speak of his generosity: he shared his personal possessions, defended the oppressed and made difficult decisions out of compassion rather than popularity.

‘During 33 years of episcopal service,’ concludes Sitorius, ‘Monsignor Pius built the Church of Medan as a living home — open, compassionate and deeply human. His legacy of faith, humility and love continues to inspire generations of Catholics in Indonesia and beyond.’