Indonesia: Balinese Catholics Celebrate Faith and Culture in Inculturation Mass in Kuta

Balinese Catholics celebrated their faith through an Inculturation Mass at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Kuta on August 9, bringing local language, music, symbols, and traditions into the Eucharistic celebration. Kuta is a coastal town in Bali, Indonesia's predominantly Hindu island province.

The Mass for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time was celebrated by Fr. Markus Solo Kewuta, SVD, together with Fr. Evensius “Venus” Dewantoro Bolidaton, parish priest of St. Francis Xavier Parish, and other priests.

The celebration brought together about 100 members of the Pasemetonan Krama Bali Katolik community and other parishioners.

Traditional Balinese elements were visible throughout the celebration. A penjor, a decorated bamboo pole associated with Balinese cultural and religious traditions, stood at the church entrance, while gebogan, arrangements of fruits traditionally used in Balinese ceremonies, formed part of the decorations.

Balinese was used in hymns and other parts of the celebration, allowing the community to express its Catholic faith through its own language and cultural heritage.

The Mass was part of St. Francis Xavier Parish's regular program of Inculturation Masses, which gives different Catholic communities an opportunity to express their faith through elements of their cultural heritage.

YB Ketut Herry Respatia, chairman of the Pasemetonan Krama Bali Katolik community at the parish, said the parish regularly organizes celebrations representing different cultural communities, including those from Flores and Timor.

“Hopefully, through Inculturation Masses like this, the proclamation of the Gospel will reach more deeply into the hearts of the faithful and the surrounding community,” Herry told Radio Veritas Asia (RVA).

Balinese Catholic communities are present in several parishes across the Diocese of Denpasar, including Denpasar Cathedral, Monang-Maning, Nusa Dua, and Pecatu, as well as long-established Catholic communities in Palasari and Tuka.

The celebration highlighted that inculturation involves more than incorporating traditional decorations, clothing, music, or language into the liturgy. It seeks to allow the Gospel to take root in the cultural and social reality of a particular people.

At St. Francis Xavier Parish, Balinese language, music, artistic expressions, and cultural symbols became part of the Eucharistic celebration while retaining the essential elements of the Catholic liturgy.

The Mass offered a visible expression of how Balinese Catholics continue to live their Christian faith while preserving and celebrating the cultural heritage that shapes their identity.