Palembang, Apostolic Vicariate of

PALEMBANG, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE of. – In the southern part of Sumatra (Indonesia). On 30 June 1911 the entire island was detached from the apostolic vicariate of Batavia (today Djakarta) and erected into the apostolic prefecture of Sumatra. On 27 December 1923 this prefecture was divided into the three prefectures of Banka and Billiton (today the apostolic vicariate of Pangkalpinang), Padang (today the apostolic vicariate of Medan), and Benkulen. The latter, on 13 June 1939, was elevated to a vicariate with the present designation of P.

The first to undertake the work of evangelization in Sumatra were some Theatines, at the beginning of the eighteenth century. But the true beginning of the missions

on the island may be dated to 1888, when the first groups of Jesuits arrived from Holland. They immediately founded a mission station in the village of Tandijong Sakti, in the district of Benkulen. The Jesuits had been preceded here by the Protestants, who, however, after some years of fruitless work, had departed. In 1911 the apostolic prefecture of Sumatra, with the islands of Banka and Billiton and the Riouw Archipelago, was entrusted to the Capuchins. On 23 September 1924 the priests of the Sacred Heart arrived there, to whom the vicariate of P. is currently entrusted.

The Malays constitute the predominant part of the population and preferably inhabit the coastal region. To the north of P. are the Kubus, who have only recently begun to come under the influence of civilization. The Javanese element is also encountered here; it was formerly dominant in the time of the Empire of Madjapahit (fourteenth century), gradually destroyed by Muslim expansion. There are also Chinese, who offer the missionary greater opportunities of gathering some fruit. The predominant religion in southern Sumatra is Islam.

Spiritual condition of the mission: in a territory of 186,000 sq. km., the population is approximately 3,230,814 inhabitants. There are 5,718 Catholics with 408 catechumens, 3,000 Protestants, 2,500,000 Muslims, and 700,000 pagans. There are 23 priests, 17 brothers, 82 foreign and native sisters, 1 major and 11 minor seminarians, 25 catechists, 103 teachers, and 95 physicians; 30 sacred buildings; 4 hospitals; 3 orphanages; 9 elementary schools; 6 middle schools; 2 vocational schools; 12 primary stations and 17 secondary stations. The city of P. is the residence of the Ordinary.