Catholic Church in Indonesia | |
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Gereja Katolik di Indonesia | |
Type | National polity |
Classification | Catholic |
Orientation | Christianity |
Scripture | Bible |
Theology | Catholic theology |
Governance | Bishops' Conference of Indonesia |
Pope | Francis |
President | Antonius Subianto Bunjamin |
Apostolic Nuncio | Piero Pioppo |
Region | Indonesia |
Language | Indonesian, Latin |
Headquarters | Jakarta |
Origin | 1534[1] Maluku Islands, Portuguese Moluccas |
Official website | Official KWI webpage |
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The Catholic Church in Indonesia (Indonesian: Gereja Katolik di Indonesia) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome. Catholicism is one of the six approved religions in Indonesia, the others being Islam, Protestantism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. According to official figures, Catholics made up 3.12 percent of the population in 2018.[2] The number of Catholics is, therefore, more than 8.3 million. Indonesia is primarily Muslim, but Catholicism is the dominant faith in certain areas of the country.
The Church is organised into one military ordinariate, 10 archdioceses and 28 dioceses, all of which are members of the Indonesian Catholic Bishops Conference (KWI)[3] led now by Bishop Antonius Subianto Bunjamin from the Diocese of Bandung. There are several Catholic religious institutes active in the country including the Jesuits, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) and the Divine Word Missionaries.
Catholicism in Indonesia began with the arrival of the Portuguese in search of the Spice Islands in the 16th century. Currently, East Nusa Tenggara and South Papua province in Indonesia are the only places where Catholicism is the dominant faith of the population, with around 55% and 50% of its population respectively.[4] There are also significant Catholic populations in North Sumatra, West Kalimantan, South Papua, South Sulawesi, Maluku and Central Java, especially in and around Muntilan.