Indonesian Catholics defy volcanic eruption for Holy Week festival

Flores Island is part of a zone around the Pacific Ocean characterized by frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions

Apr 16, 2025

A higher number of Catholics registered to join a traditional Semana Santa (Holy Week) festival in Indonesia’s Christian-majority Flores Island this year despite a volcanic eruption nearby.

About 5,000 people have registered online and offline for the festival held in Larantuka, East Flores Regency, compared to 4,000 last year, according to official records.

"Check-in for the pilgrims has been open since April 14 and will close on April 18," Paul Fernandez, the head of the Registration Secretariat, told UCA News on April 16.

Registration is open every day from 8 am to 8 pm, except on the last day, he said.

Linawati Hananta, a medical doctor from the national capital Jakarta, joined the festival for the first time. She is part of a pilgrim group of 19 people from the Faculty of Medicine of Church-run Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia in Jakarta

"This is my first time attending Semana Santa in person. Usually, I only watch it on YouTube or read about it in the media," she said.

She said, in addition to following the Portuguese heritage tradition, they also carried out free health checks in Adonara and Solor Island, and the East Flores mainland.

During the festival that begins on Maundy Thursday, pilgrims visit three chapels where statues of Tuan Ma (Blessed Mother), Tuan Meninu (Baby Jesus), and Tuan Anna (Jesus) are housed.

The celebration peaks on Good Friday when the Baby Jesus statue is taken via boat in the Savu Sea to meet the Blessed Mother in her chapel. Hundreds of pilgrims join in and follow a flotilla of boats.

This year's festival is being held amidst the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki.

The last eruption occurred twice in the early hours of April 16, with ash spewing 3,500 meters above the peak or 5,084 meters above sea level, said Lewotobi Laki-laki's Volcano Observation Post Officer Emanuel Rofinus Bere.

The eruption did not impact residents' activities, he said, but the rumbling of the eruption reached Larantuka, the capital of East Flores Regency on the east of the volcano, where Semana Santa was held.

He appealed to people not to carry out any activities within a radius of 6 kilometers from the center of the eruption.

Avelina Hallan, head of Emergency and Logistics Division of East Flores Regency’s Disaster Management Agency, said that the current situation is still conducive and does not disturb residents, especially those who are preparing for Semana Santa.

"It's safe because the location is far away, and the ash is not spewed towards the east but towards the north and west," she said.

Awi Setiono, the deputy chief of the East Nusa Tenggara Regional Police,  said they have deployed 3,148 security personnel to secure the celebration sites.

"They come from the police unit, the rescue agency, the military, and other stakeholders," he said.

He said the troops are ready to respond to the possible impact of the eruption.

Mount Lewotobi Laki, a 1,703-meter twin-peaked volcano, erupted for 11 minutes and nine seconds late on March 20, authorities said, raising the volcano's alert status to the highest level.

In November, it erupted several times, killing nine people, canceling scores of international flights to the tourist island of Bali, and forcing thousands to evacuate.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago nation, experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity due to its position on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," a zone around the Pacific Ocean characterized by frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.--ucanews.com