A Catholic choir festival in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province brought together 444 participants from 10 delegations on October 16–17, with Church and government officials highlighting music as a means of strengthening faith, fraternity, and social harmony.
The Second West Kalimantan Catholic Church Choir Festival (Pesparani) featured three competition categories, with Pontianak City winning two championship titles.
Bishop Samuel Oton Sidin, OFM Cap., Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Pontianak, presided over the opening Mass on October 16 at St. Joseph Cathedral, joined by priests from four dioceses in West Kalimantan.
In his homily, Bishop Samuel urged participants to look beyond competition and recognize the festival as an expression of faith and worship.
“This celebration should not be viewed merely as a competition. Rather, as people of faith, we should look at it from a deeper and more fundamental perspective: faith, worship, praise and thanksgiving to God,” he said.
The festival’s theme, “Praise the Lord, all you nations; glorify him, all you peoples” (Psalm 117:1), emphasized praise and thanksgiving as central to the gathering.
Representing the West Kalimantan governor at the festival’s inauguration, Heronimus Hero, assistant for economic affairs and development at the provincial regional secretariat, highlighted the role of music in bringing people together across differences.
“Choir singing also teaches us about togetherness. Different voices harmonize and complement one another, creating beauty. The same is true of our life in society. Differences are not meant to be opposed but brought together to create beauty,” he said, conveying the governor’s message.
The competitions featured young Catholic choirs, adult male Gregorian choirs, and adult women’s choirs. Pontianak City won the young Catholic choir and adult women’s choir categories, while Sanggau Regency took first place in the adult male Gregorian choir category.
Kapuas Hulu and Sintang regencies placed second and third, respectively, in the young Catholic choir category. Pontianak City and Melawi Regency finished second and third in the adult male Gregorian choir category, while Melawi and Kapuas Hulu placed second and third in the adult women’s category.
At the closing ceremony on October 17, Maskendari, chairman of the organizing committee, thanked participants, judges, volunteers, government authorities, and Church representatives for supporting the event.
“Pesparani is not only about who wins the competition. It is about how we work together to nurture fraternity, solidarity and a commitment to giving our best to the Church, society and nation,” he said.
Fr. Alexius Alex, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Pontianak, representing Bishop Samuel, likewise emphasized that the festival should strengthen faith, fellowship, and service rather than focus solely on musical achievements.
The provincial festival also serves as a qualifying platform for the National Catholic Church Choir Festival scheduled for 2027 in Manado, North Sulawesi. According to Maskendari, the first-place winners from the two provincial festivals held in 2026 will represent West Kalimantan at the national event.
Through liturgical music, the festival sought to strengthen relationships among Catholics from different parts of the province while promoting cooperation and respect in Indonesia’s religiously and culturally diverse society.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
Latest News
