17-day event is a new way of evangelization, says Bogor bishop
A nativity scene on display at Beatae Mariae Virginis Cathedral Church in Bogor of Indonesia’s West Java province. (Photo: Beatae Mariae Virginis Cathedral Church)
A cathedral in Indonesia has kicked off the country's first-ever exhibition showcasing 100 nativity scenes, as Christians resume public Christmas celebrations in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 17-day event at Beatae Mariae Virginis Cathedral Church in Bogor in West Java province runs from Dec. 23 to Jan. 8, a church official said.
The event takes inspiration from Pope Francis’ invitation to maintain the holy traditions of the Catholic Church as highlighted in his 2019 Apostolic Letter Admirabile Signum on the Meaning and Importance of the Nativity Scene, said Father Alfonsus Sombolinggi, coordinator of the exhibition
The pope said that “as we contemplate this aspect of the nativity scene, we are called to reflect on the responsibility of every Christian to spread the Gospel” and “each of us is called to bear glad tidings to all, testifying by our practical works of mercy to the joy of knowing Jesus and his love.”
Father Sombolinggi said the event aims to help people realize the significance of the birth of Jesus.
“We want Catholic families to see this Christmas moment as a treasure for their children to have a better understanding of the birth of Jesus. We also want to make this Christmas a special moment for them,” the priest said.
“How beautiful it is to see them coming to this exhibition altogether. How beautiful it is to see them all enjoying the Christmas joy together.”
The priest said Catholic individuals and families as well as Catholic school children took part in making the nativity scenes with various materials, such as used cardboard and cement.
The exhibition is the first of its kind in Indonesia and is open to all, he said
“It is open to followers of all other religions. It is religious tourism for all faithful. We invited the Bogor mayor, who is a Muslim,” he said.
Franciscan Bishop Paskalis Bruno Syukur of Bogor said the Catholic Church has maintained a tradition of making nativity scenes in order to help Catholics to deepen their faith about the birth of Jesus.
“It is like a visualization of the incarnation mystery of God becoming a man,” he told UCA News.
The bishop, the secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia, said the exhibition is a new way of evangelization.
“Such visualization is a new creativity. We can see in this exhibition that participants use different materials to make the nativity scenes. Some make child Jesus statues according to their own cultures, for example, there are Javanese and Florinese child Jesus statues. This is a way of new evangelization,” he said.
Fransiska Romana Cecilia, a local Catholic, said the exhibition helps her understand better the meaning of the birth of Jesus.
“To me, this exhibition helps me to feel more the joy of Christmas. The nativity scenes are so colorful with all their ornaments,” she said, adding that such an event brings joy for local Catholics who did not hold any major Christmas programs in the past three years due to the pandemic.
Bogor City Mayor Bima Arya Sugiarto hailed the exhibition.
“Jesus shows a universal value to the world. I think every religion has such value, which is the value of simplicity. And I think this is the substance of the exhibition — the symbolization of simplicity which is facing a degradation,” Sugiarto, a Muslim, told UCA News.
“We are much drifted away by the worldly goods, luxury and hedonism. So, I think the exhibition of [the Catholic Church’s] reminds us about the value of simplicity.”
He also said the exhibition helps deepen mutual understanding among people of various faiths.
“They come to the exhibition to get a better understanding [of the Catholic faith] and to improve mutual respect,” he said.
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