“My name is Dimas, which means good thief,” he says with the smile common to many Asians, as he tells me about his life and how his Muslim mother converted to Catholicism.
Dimas Kusuma Wijaya, a young seminarian from Indonesia who studied at the University of Navarra in Pamplona and lives and trains at the Bidasoa International Seminary, welcomed us with a smile as we interviewed him about his life, his family and his vocation.
A seminarian in a family of 13 Muslim brothers
“Indonesia has one of the largest Muslim populations in the world. My mother grew up in a large Muslim household with her parents and 13 siblings. When she met my father, she felt a calling to convert to Christianity,” Dimas says.
During the relationship, my father explained to his son how Christians live their Catholic faith. My mother was obviously very excited. Meanwhile, when my mother spoke to her own father, my grandfather, he said something very nice to her: “If you know of another good religion, understand it more deeply.” My grandfather supported and respected my mother, says the Indonesian seminarian.
When I was eight years old, I married my father.
In 2000, eight years after marrying his father, his mother converted to Christianity. “It was a great moment and had a big impact on her life, because from that moment on, she, who was already a Catholic, tried very hard to live as a good Christian. She was very satisfied and happy, and she really felt that this religion was true, because in the end, her encounter with Jesus, the Son of God, changed her life, her outlook on life and her family,” says Dimas.
He also explains that it took eight years for him to convert because her parents moved around a lot and didn’t have a permanent home, which made it difficult to settle in a parish and for his mother to attend catechesis classes and doctrinal training.
“My mother’s faith meant everything to me”
Dimas excitedly says that his mother’s faith taught him everything: “My mother’s way of life in a country like Indonesia and her example of professing her faith were the seed that ignited my vocation to become a priest. She taught me to pray every morning and every night. She took me to church and always taught me how to live as a Christian and how to face difficulties. My mother’s faith was everything to me. It was so alive and real and it taught me everything.”
His mother is very happy that her son is pursuing a priestly career, and all of her family are Muslim and support his vocation as a Catholic priest, with great respect for each other.
As a pre-teen, he wanted to change his life.
But he also experienced a somewhat rebellious pre-adolescence: “As a teenager, I wanted to change my life. I didn’t want to study, I just wanted to have fun. In short, I did whatever I wanted. And I thought the best way to change all that would be to enter a minor seminary that would help me to become better. But of course, in the end God changed not only my life but also my vocation,” he says with emotion.
He remembers the most powerful moment of his vocation: one day, before the Blessed Sacrament, he experienced great peace and great joy as he experienced God calling him to give himself to others. Finally, he heard God calling him.
“I heard a voice say: ‘Dimas, look, there are people who need you, and there will be many more who need you.’ From that moment of prayer, and from the moment I felt that I could help others, I wanted to be a priest. I want to be with God and help every wish of people in need.”
Faculty of Theology in Surabaya
Thus, Dimas entered the minor seminary at age 15 and the preparatory seminary at age 18. Upon turning 20, his bishop sent him to the Bidasoa International Seminary in Spain to receive proper training for the priesthood at the Faculty of Ecclesiology at the University of Navarra.
“I have just finished my first training course. My bishop wants to establish a theology faculty in my diocese, Surabaya, and to do so he is sending seminarians to Bidasoa every two years,” he explains.
His brother is Dominican.
Dimas has one brother who is a Dominican seminarian studying philosophy in Manila, Philippines, and two sisters, one married and living in Tokyo, and the other a professor of psychology at a university in Jakarta.
Indonesia: A country with six major religions
How do Catholics live in Indonesia, where there is a Muslim majority? Is there respect between the denominations? Dimas replies: “For now, I have to say that there is more tolerance between us, but it depends on where the Christians live. In some cities it is very difficult to establish a parish or a church. We also have to take into account that Indonesia is very pluralistic. We have Muslims, Catholics, Buddhists, Hindus, Confucians and Protestant Christians. Six major religions coexist in Indonesia.”
Characteristics of a Young Priest
He realizes that one of the challenges he will face when he returns to his home country will be interreligious tolerance and respect, and, as he is just beginning his path to the priesthood, he believes one of the main characteristics a young priest should have is humility.
“A young priest is like a newborn baby. In his priestly vocation he has to learn a lot. He has to know how to listen to the voice of others and above all to God. If he is humble, he will live a good life because his ego and ambition do not guide him, but rather God Himself guides his life and accompanies him. If he is humble, he will be able to live his priestly vocation very well, because he will experience that indeed the power of God accompanies all his pastoral activity,” concludes the young seminarian from Indonesia.
