Sukabumi, Apostolic Prefecture of (SUKABUMI, PREFETTURA APOSTOLICA DI)

Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.

SUKABUMI, APOSTOLIC PREFECTURE OF - Situated in the western part of the island of Java (Indonesia), it includes the civil prefecture of Bantam and the sub-prefectures of S. and of Tjandiur. It has an area of 15,802 sq. km. and a population of approx.

Article illustration — SUIYUAN, ARCHDIOCESE of - Commemorative arch in front of the cemetery where the remains of 200 victims of the 1900 persecution rest - Hao-ly.
(photo Fides)

2,672,218 inhabitants, for the most part Mohammedans. There are also counted 37,000 Chinese, who are pagans.

For a long time the famous art. 177 of the Dutch Government Regulation for the Indies had prevented access to the province of Bantam for missionaries, but, thanks to a progressively milder interpretation of the same article, in 1929 the Dutch Franciscan Friars Minor were able to undertake the evangelization of Bantam, collaborating in the beginning with the Jesuits of Batavia, today Djakarta. The apostolic prefecture of S. was erected on Dec. 9, 1948, by detachment from the vicariate of Djakarta.

There are 25 priests, of whom 2 are Indonesians; 4 brothers; 46 sisters, of whom 7 are Indonesians; 2 major and 5 minor seminarians; 36 male teachers and 30 female teachers; 3 hospitals; 2 dispensaries; 7 orphanages; 19 elementary schools; 4 middle schools; one high school; one kindergarten; 7 primary stations with 11 sacred buildings. A newspaper entitled Penabur is published there.

BIBL.: AAS, 41 (1949), pp. 142-43; MC, 1950, p. 436; Arch. di Prop. Fide, Relaz. cum somn., pos. prot. n. 4432/48 and Prospectus status Miss. 1930-51, pos. prot. n. 3812/51. Edoardo Pecorsio