The governor granted permission in a ceremony that ended a years-long battle. The laying of the first stone will be in September, the day of the feast of the saint of the last
Bekasi () – The Catholic community of Bekasi, in the province of West Java, will finally have a church dedicated to Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The long-awaited building permit was officially handed over a few days ago by Governor Ridwan Kamil. The 7,500 square meter piece of land is located in the Cikarang township, and was purchased a few years ago by the local parish.
Permission to build the church building had come up in 2012; under pressure from some local Muslim groups, bureaucratic problems had been raised to justify the non-concession. Now, however, less than a year before the February 2024 elections, a local administration independent of the parties was able to unlock the file with a simple modification of the urban plan through which the presence of the place of worship has been allowed. in a commercial area. “Since taking over as acting head of the district in 2021,” said head of administration Dani Ramdan, “I have been trying to find a good solution with all parties to end the crisis.”
So now the Catholic community of Cikarang – which has many families and for years has gathered for liturgies in a hall of the local Catholic Trinity School – will be able to have its own church. The parish priest, Fr. Antonius Suhardi Antara, told that success has been possible thanks to “long years of good relations with all parts of the Bekasi district and good communication with the new administration.” The laying of the first stone of the church – he added – will take place in September, in memory of the date of death of the patron saint of the parish, Mother Teresa of Calcutta “.
