Seminary in world’s largest Muslim-majority country of Indonesia produces biggest number of priests
Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim country in terms of population. The number of its Muslim people is even bigger than the combined Muslim populations of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq.
Flores, in the Lesser Sunda Islands in eastern Indonesia, is the only place Catholics are numerous. It is the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province.
The first Catholic mission in Indonesia arrived in the 14th century, led by Odoric of Pordenone, OFM (1286 1331), also known as Odorico Mattiussi, an Italian late-medieval Franciscan friar.
Portuguese missionaries arrived in Malacca in the 16th century, along with an exploration for spice. Spanish Jesuit Saint Francis Xavier, a representative of the Portuguese Empire, conducted missionary work in this part of Indonesia.
When Ambon, an island part of Malacca, was occupied by the Dutch East India Company in 1605, the locals converted to Protestantism. As a result, the growth of the Catholic faith in the area declined.
Currently, with an estimated 70 percent of the roughly two million population of Flores, the Catholics are the majority on the island.
Today, Flores’ St. Paul Major Seminary produces the largest number of priests annually.
Founded on a remote hilltop of Ledalero in 1937, the seminary is managed by the Divine Word Missionaries, who arrived in Indonesia in 1912.
In 1981, the government authorized the seminary to offer a diploma in philosophy. The school began offering a master's program in 2003.
This school has sent many of its graduates to various parts of the world.
Fr. Paulus Budi Kleden, the Archbishop of Ende since 2024 and former superior of the Divine Word Missionary, is a graduate of this school.
St. Peter's Major Seminary is regarded as the largest Catholic seminary in the world by its number of enrollees.
The school produces about 600 priests annually, a figure not seen in any seminary worldwide.
After the government issued a decree, the Ledalero Catholic Philosophy School changed its name to the Ledalero Institute of Philosophy and Creative Technology in 2022.
The decree also authorized the school to introduce two new courses: entrepreneurship and visual communication design.
Also known as Ritapiret Seminary, the school has more than 6,000 graduates, 21 bishops, and more than 1,900 priests. The school sent about one-fourth of its alumni to various parts of the world.
Gabriel Manek, an Indonesian archbishop, was a product of this school.
In 2022, Pope Francis noted the seminary’s contribution to the worldwide church.
In a Mass in the Vatican, Pope Francis said, “The numbers are lacking. There are no more vocations, so we’ll be going to this island in Indonesia to find our future priests."
The European missionaries came to Flores centuries ago to Christianize the island. Now, it produces priests and sends them to parts of Europe to continue the Church’s mission.
