103-year-old cathedral gets a facelift

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The Santo Yosef Cathedral, over a century old, in West Kalimantan’s Pontianak, will get a new Gothic look as restoration work starts this week.

“We need around Rp 60 billion [US$6.3 million] to renovate the cathedral. So far, we have collected Rp 50 billion. The renovation should take around two years,” said Thomas Aleksander, adviser to the cathedral’s renovation committee.

The semi-traditional facade will be replaced by a more modern one, which resembles Saint Peter’s in the Vatican. Its signature elements include a 22-meter bell tower situated.

The new building will have bigger capacity as it is expected to accommodate 3,000 people, three times of previous capacity.

Built in 1909 by the Dutch missionaries, the cathedral previously has undergone three more facelifts.