Sr. Maria Silvia Bate, OSB, a nun from Maukeli, Nagekeo, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, was officially appointed head of the Monastero Benedettino di Orte, or Benedictine Monastery of Orte, Italy, on September 27, 2026.
Pope Leo XIV has expressed his solidarity with victims of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province on Aug. 15, killing dozens of people and leaving thousands displaced.
A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Indonesia’s Flores Island in eastern Indonesia early Saturday, August 15, killing at least 20 people, injuring several others and triggering a temporary tsunami warning as authorities launched rescue and emergency operations.
As tensions rise over geothermal energy development on the island of Flores, the Catholic Church in Indonesia has once again joined hands with local communities and civil society in a united, prayerful stand to protect both people and creation.
In a powerful display of Catholic faith and local tradition, thousands of faithful in the Diocese of Ruteng, Flores, Indonesia gathered to celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi).
A coalition of environmental and social justice organizations under the Aliansi TERLIBAT Bersama KORBAN Geothermal Flores (ALTER KGF) has strongly opposed the construction of a geothermal power plant in Mataloko, Ngada Regency, citing environmental destruction, threats to local agriculture, and violations of indigenous rights.
