Matraman church celebrates 100 years of service

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 07/01/2009 12:35 PM  |  City

Standing in front of the altar of Santo Yoseph church in Matraman, East Jakarta, a congregation member recalls a bombing nine years ago at the Catholic church.

"It was Christmas Eve. Almost all the congregation members attended the mass," Gunawan, who lives in East Jakarta's Jl. Pramuka, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

"I was about to enter the church to join the second mass when I suddenly heard a loud explosion. A few seconds later, people started screaming and running everywhere."

The explosion razed a bus shelter in front of the church, forcing the church to cancel mass.

"It was a tragic night."

The 2000 Christmas Eve bombing, which claimed four lives and injured dozens, may have cast a gloom upon Santo Yoseph's history, but it certainly failed to quell its activities.

In June, the church, which is located on Jl. Matraman Raya, celebrated its 100th anniversary of serving its congregation, making it one of Jakarta's oldest churches.

Although the church was physically built in 1923, its contribution to the development of Christianity in the city can be traced back to the beginning of the 20th century.

The land where the church now stands was bought in 1906 and was initially designated for a church for the Catholics living in Meester Cornelis area (now Jatinegara).

On June 22, 1909, Father J. Hoevernaars SJ, the church's first priest, ran his first service in the area by baptizing a baby girl, Christina Wilhelmina Cornelia. The date was chosen to be the church's anniversary.

It took 17 years for the later congregation to obtain approval from the Dutch colonial government for the church building.

Led by Indonesian-born Dutch architect Frans Johan Ghijsels, who also designed the Kota railway station in North Jakarta and Vrijmetselaarslogre (now the Bappenas office) in Menteng, Central Jakarta, the church's construction began on April 8, 1923, and was completed within seven months.

Adopting the Basilica architectural style, Ghijels emphasized the vertical lines in all parts of the church's building. By minimizing interior ornaments and sculptures in the pillars and walls inside, he had created a sufficient space to optimize the acoustical effects in the church's chamber, which has two wings.

With the design of the chamber adopting the principle of a right triangle, a person who sits in one wing can completely see the altar, which is in the chamber's right angle, but cannot see those sitting in another wing.

Now, the church has more than 6,000 members, including Javanese, Flores, Chinese and Batak.

Learning from the 2000 bombing, the church's head, Agus I Nyoman Murtika, said it was inevitable for the church to implement tighter security, especially during major events like Easter and Christmas.

"Some congregation members feel uncomfortable as the police are also monitoring them." (hwa)

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