Faith Matters - The Miracle of Flores - The World’s Largest Seminary
The Divine Word Missionaries have been active on the Indonesian island of Flores since 1912. Today, there are more than 2000 Divine Word priests and brothers in Indonesia. Before the missionaries arrived, Ledalero was virtually deserted. The indigenous people avoided the area because they believed it to be inhabited by evil spirits. Building a Catholic seminary there has transformed Ledalero. Now it is not only viewed positively by Indonesians, but by Catholics everywhere. The seminary in Ledalero educates priests who go out into the world, proclaiming the gospel not only by preaching, but by fighting poverty and injustice. We visited Ledalero and report on the Indonesian students studying philosophy and theology there, many of them with the aim of becoming Catholic priests.