The Trappist Religious Order has Founded its Fourth Monastery in Indonesia. The inauguration ceremony of the new monastery of the Trappists, or Cistercians of strict observance, was held according to Dayak cultural traditions.

Newsroom (22/07/2022 9:45 AM, Gaudium Press) A new Trappist monastery was added to Indonesia on July 14, 2022, in the town of Penggadungan.

The small town where the monastery is located is three and a half hours from the city of Ketapang, in an isolated area in the middle of the forest.

The monastery is on property that was bought by the then Bishop Blasius Pujaraharja a few decades ago.

The inauguration ceremony of the new monastery of the Trappists, or Cistercians of strict observance, was held according to Dayak cultural traditions.

The blessing of the facilities was done by the Bishop of the Diocese of Ketapang, Bishop Pius Riana Prapdi and Father Isaac Majoor, the Dutch superior of the Trappists at Konigshoeven Abbey in Tilburg.

The new community will have Father Mikael Santana as superior and will have three monks as assistants.

Bishop Pius Riana Prapdi said that “the Trappist monastery is needed in our diocese because prayers are really needed”.

The other Trappist monasteries in Indonesia were founded in 1953, 1987 and 1996. (FM)

Compiled by Florence MacDonald