Jakarta: A Muslim woman in Indonesia has expressed happiness after her son was ordained a Catholic priest.
“I’m really happy to see my son ordained a Catholic priest,” said Sites Asiyah immediately after the ordination of her son Robertus B. Asiyanto, a Muslim convert to Catholicism.
Archbishop Vincensius Poto Kota Pr of Ende ordained Aiyanto, who is nicknamed “Yanto,” and 10 other deacons on October 10 in the chapel of the Major Seminary of Maumere on the island of Flores, asianews.it reports.
They are all members of the Society of Divine Word, a major Catholic religious congregation active in Indonesia.
Asiyah wore Islamic dress (including the hijab) and came to the chapel accompanied by her son. She laid her hands on his head, under the gaze of his adoptive father who was watching from the front with the rest of the family.
“I’m really happy with my son’s choice,” she said after laying her hands on the altar. Asiyanto’s Muslim family joyfully participated in his ordination.
The island of Flores is one of the few predominantly Catholic areas of Indonesia.
The island is part of Eastern Nusa Taggara province that has the highest concentration of Catholics in Indonesia. It is rare for a Muslim family to willingly accept the conversion of a son to Catholicism, the Italian Church agency says.
Central Java is Muslim majority, but many men and women Catholic religious come from Muslim families.
In southern Sumatra twin sisters made history when one became a devout Muslim and participated in the recent Haj pilgrimage to Mecca. The other sister became Catholic and entered the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Merauke, on the island of Papua.
Both are happy and maintain good family relationships, the agency reports.