JAKARTA — Catholics from across the Jakarta Archdiocese gathered at the Our Lady of Akita Prayer Garden in Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK)-2 on Feb. 15 to celebrate the Jubilee Year 2025.
The event was initiated by Kabar Baik, a Catholic media platform founded by Father Yustinus Sulistiadi, a diocesan priest of Jakarta Archdiocese.
Kabar Baik, established in mid-2024, aims to inspire Catholic journalists to share the Vatican’s key messages and Pope Francis’ teachings with a wider audience.
As part of this mission, Father Sulistiadi invited Catholics from various parishes to take part in a Eucharistic celebration.
The Mass was presided over by Fathers Yustinus Sulistiadi, Rochadi, Riki Baruwarsa, Bambang Rudianto, and Lucky Nikasius.
In his opening remarks, Father Sulistiadi encouraged the faithful to welcome the Jubilee Year with a renewed spirit of hope.
“There are three key messages from Pope Francis’ pastoral visit to Indonesia last September 2024 that we should take to heart,” he said. “One of them is the importance of building strong, fraternal relationships with people of different faiths.”
He explained that interfaith humanitarian initiatives have been a long-standing effort, starting with his Cultura di Vita in 2007 and continuing with the Ikon Kebudayaan Nusantara (IKN) in 2023.
The latest movement is the launch of Kabar Baik, an evangelization platform aimed at spreading messages of faith and goodwill through its website: www.kabar.baik-id.
Speaking with LiCAS News, Edison Djingga, the Managing Director of Our Lady of Akita at PIK-2, welcomed Kabar Baik’s initiative to promote the Jubilee Year’s spirit of hope.
“PIK-2’s management intentionally built this worship space as a public facility for those who wish to perform devotional activities to St. Mary, Mother of Jesus,” said Djingga.
Since its soft opening in 2023, Our Lady of Akita Praying Garden has welcomed an increasing number of Catholics from across the country who come to perform Eucharist in the chapel.
The shrine has also become a destination for a group of Catholics from mainland China who visit annually. Djingga emphasized the enthusiasm of more than 700 Catholics who attended Saturday’s solemn Mass.
Naning, Executive Officer of Our Lady of Akita, echoed the same sentiment. “Last Saturday’s solemn Eucharist with five priests in our worship space has once again allowed our Catholic churchgoers to experience the beauty and vast spiritual richness of our Catholic Church,” she said.
Father Sulistiadi outlined three key messages from the Pope’s visit to Indonesia: caring for our common home, promoting social justice, and fostering interfaith dialogue.
He emphasized that the Earth is facing serious threats from air pollution, deforestation, and environmental degradation, urging everyone to take responsibility for protecting nature.
He also spoke about the Church’s crucial role in promoting human dignity, equality, and justice in society, and stressed the importance of strengthening friendships and understanding among people of different religions to ensure peace and harmony.
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