BATAVIA, apostolic vicariate of. — This mission in the Dutch East Indies, today governed by Dutch Jesuits, was established as a separate circumscription in 1841 (for the earlier period V. Dutch East Indies). From then until 1859, the missionary work of the few secular priests assigned to this vast mission was necessarily limited to the care of European Catholics in Java.
In 1859, the first two Dutch Jesuits arrived, summoned by the apostolic vicar Monsignor Vrancken. Soon followed by their confreres, they were later able to extend their activity beyond Java to other parts of the Archipelago (Flores, Timor, Celebes, Sumatra, Borneo, etc.), even before they could establish a center in Java itself, where the government openly favored the dominant Islam. The task, however, proved exceedingly difficult, not only because of the vastness of the vicariate but also due to the multiplicity of races, each with its own language and customs. Therefore, beginning in 1902, the mission began to divide its territory among other missionary institutes, such as those of the Sacred Heart of Issoudun, the Capuchins, the Society of the Divine Word, and others. In this way, the Jesuits, confined to the western extremity of Java, were able to foster a fruitful missionary activity, especially through primary and secondary schools, despite the challenges of the terrain, the national sensitivity of the Javanese, who remained attached to a “Western” religion, the persistent hostility of Muhammadanism—particularly from the *hajji*, fanatics who had made the pilgrimage to Mecca—and the encroaching spread of communism.
According to 1948 statistics, the vicariate covers an area of 6,777 square kilometers and has a population of 2,648,422, most of whom are Muslim. The decline in population has been caused by a strong emigration trend. There are 888 indigenous Catholics and 24,096 foreign Catholics. The missionaries number 65, the brothers 43, and the sisters 247. Five periodicals are published in the vicariate. During the last Indonesian uprising for independence (1945–46), following the collapse of Japan, several Jesuit fathers lost their lives.