57 Facts About Albertus Soegijapranata

Albertus Soegijapranata began his two-year novitiate with the Society of Jesus in September 1920 in Grave, and finished his juniorate there in 1923.

Albertus Soegijapranata was then sent back to the Indies to preach and became a parochial vicar at the parish in Kidul Loji, Yogyakarta, and in 1934 he was given his own parish in Bintaran.

Albertus Soegijapranata was consecrated as the vicar apostolic of the newly established Apostolic Vicariate of Semarang in 1940.

Albertus Soegijapranata was able to resist several of these seizures, and spent the rest of the occupation serving the Catholics in his vicariate.

Albertus Soegijapranata helped broker a ceasefire after a five-day battle between Japanese and Indonesian troops and called for the central government to send someone to deal with the unrest and food shortages in the city.

However, these problems continued to grow, and in 1947 Albertus Soegijapranata moved his seat to Yogyakarta.

Albertus Soegijapranata's body was flown back to Indonesia, where he was made a national hero and interred at Giri Tunggal Heroes' Cemetery in Semarang.

Albertus Soegijapranata continues to be viewed with respect by both Catholic and non-Catholic Indonesians.

Albertus Soegijapranata later transferred to a school in Wirogunan, Yogyakarta, near Pakualaman.

Albertus Soegijapranata was one of 54 students in his year.

Albertus Soegijapranata was intrigued by the Trinity, and asked several of the priests for clarification.

Albertus Soegijapranata graduated in 1919, having studied French, Latin, Greek, and literature.

Albertus Soegijapranata completed his novitiate on 22 September 1922 and was initiated into the Jesuits, taking their oath of poverty, chastity and obedience.

Albertus Soegijapranata translated some of the results of the 27th International Eucharistic Congress, held in Amsterdam in 1924, for the Javanese-language magazine Swaratama, which circulated mainly among Xaverius alumni.

Albertus Soegijapranata graduated from Berchmann in 1926, then began preparations to return to the Indies.

Albertus Soegijapranata supervised the school's gamelan and gardening programs and became the chief editor of Swaratama.

Albertus Soegijapranata wrote editorials that covered a variety of topics, including condemnations of communism and discussions of various aspects of poverty.

Albertus Soegijapranata finished his theology studies in 1932 and in 1933 spent his tertianship in Drongen, Belgium.

Albertus Soegijapranata served as parochial vicar for Father van Driessche, one of his teachers from Xaverius.

Albertus Soegijapranata was, by this point, a short and chubby man with what the Dutch historian Geert Arend van Klinken described as "a boyish sense of humour that won him many friends".

Albertus Soegijapranata was a spiritual adviser to several local groups and established a Catholic credit union.

Albertus Soegijapranata counselled young Catholic couples before marriage, believing that these unions helped unite the Catholic families in the city, and continued to write for Swaratama, again serving as its editor in chief.

Albertus Soegijapranata began working on the Church hierarchy in the region, establishing new parishes.

Albertus Soegijapranata attempted to resist these seizures, at times filling the locations with people to make them unmanageable or indicating that other buildings, such as cinemas, would serve Japanese needs better.

Albertus Soegijapranata prevented the Japanese from taking Gedangan Presbytery, where he lived, and assigned guardians for schools and other facilities to prevent seizure.

Albertus Soegijapranata was unable to prevent Japanese torture of prisoners of war, including the clergy, but was himself well-treated by the Japanese forces; he was often invited to Japanese ceremonies, but never attended, sending bouquets in his stead.

Albertus Soegijapranata used this position of respect to lobby for fair treatment of those interned.

Albertus Soegijapranata successfully petitioned the Japanese overlords to exempt nuns from the paramilitary draft and allow them to work at hospitals.

Albertus Soegijapranata travelled by foot, bicycle, and carriage, as his car had been seized.

Albertus Soegijapranata sent pastors to apostolic prefectures in Bandung, Surabaya, and Malang to deal with the lack of clergy there.

Albertus Soegijapranata worked to ensure that the seminary would continue to produce new pastors and appointed the recently ordained Father Hardjawasita as its rector.

Albertus Soegijapranata granted native priests the authority to perform marriages.

In support of the new Republic, Albertus Soegijapranata had an Indonesian flag flown in front of the Gedangan Rectory; however, he did not formally recognise the nation's independence, owing to his correspondence with Willekens regarding the Church's neutrality.

Albertus Soegijapranata then contacted the Japanese and, that afternoon, brokered a cease-fire agreement in his office at Gedangan, despite Indonesian forces' firing at the Gurkha soldiers posted in front of the building.

Albertus Soegijapranata corresponded with Willekens in Jakarta, although the elder bishop considered the revolution an internal security matter for the Dutch and not an issue for the Church.

However, in early 1947 Albertus Soegijapranata moved to Yogyakarta, allowing easy communication with the political leadership.

Albertus Soegijapranata established his seat at St Yoseph in Bintaran and counselled young Catholics to fight for their country, saying that they should only return "once they were dead".

Albertus Soegijapranata was present during several battles that arose where he was preaching.

Albertus Soegijapranata further opined that the Dutch blockade on Indonesia, aside from strangling the new country's economy, increased the influence of its communist groups.

Albertus Soegijapranata continued his efforts to consolidate the Party after the revolution.

Albertus Soegijapranata emphasised that students must not only be good Catholics, but good Indonesians.

Albertus Soegijapranata began reforming the Church in his apostolic vicariate, making it more Indonesian.

Albertus Soegijapranata advocated the use of local languages and Indonesian during mass, allowing it throughout his diocese beginning in 1956.

Albertus Soegijapranata believed that the PKI was making progress with the poor through its promises of workers' rights in a communist-led union.

Albertus Soegijapranata hoped that these would empower workers and thus limit the PKI's influence.

One such labour group was Buruh Pancasila, which was formed on 19 June 1954; through the organisation Albertus Soegijapranata helped promote the state philosophy of Pancasila.

Albertus Soegijapranata firmly supported the Indonesian position; West Papua was annexed in 1963.

Sukarno, who had a good working relationship with Albertus Soegijapranata, asked the vicar to join the National Council, a request that Albertus Soegijapranata refused; he did assign two delegates to the council, ensuring Catholic representation.

However, Albertus Soegijapranata was strongly against Sukarno's idea of Nasakom, which based part of the nation's government on communism.

When this happened, Albertus Soegijapranata was in Europe to attend the Second Vatican Council as part of the Central Preparatory Commission; he was one of eleven diocesan bishops and archbishops from Asia.

Albertus Soegijapranata was able to attend the first session, where he voiced concerns about the declining quality of pastoral work and called for the modernisation of the Church.

Albertus Soegijapranata then returned to Indonesia, but his health, poor since the late 1950s, quickly declined.

On 30 May 1963, Albertus Soegijapranata left Indonesia for Europe to attend the election of Pope Paul VI.

Albertus Soegijapranata died on 22 July 1963, at a nunnery in Steyl, the Netherlands, having had a heart attack shortly before his death.

Albertus Soegijapranata is remembered with pride by Javanese Catholics, who praise his strength of will during the occupation and national revolution.

Van Klinken writes that Albertus Soegijapranata eventually became like a priyayi, or Javanese nobleman, within the church, as "committed to hierarchy and the status quo as to the God who created them".

Albertus Soegijapranata is the namesake of a large Catholic university in Semarang.