Indonesia’s diversity of cultures and religions is its main attraction as a tourist destination.
Recently, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia, Sandiaga Uno, hopes that one of the islands in East Nusa Tenggara will become a center of religious tourism for Catholics.
He hopes for Flores to become the center of Catholic religious tourism destinations.
“As well as promoting Flores Island as the backbone of the super-priority tourism destination Labuan Bajo,” Sandiaga Uno said in a webinar on the Potential and Development Strategy for Catholic Religious Tourism on Flores Island, as quoted from Antara and @seasia.news.
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The Minister explained that he has continued interacting with Catholic priests. They said they were happy to be able to present a collaboration to develop Flores Island as a religious tourism destination for Catholics.
“My hope is the same as we developed the super-priority destination of Borobudur for Buddhists and the pilgrimage of the Wali Songo Tomb for Muslims in East Java,” said Sandiaga.
He also explained that Flores Island is known for its history and heritage, which dates back to the development and spread of Catholicism in the archipelago.
Semana Santa Tradition in Flores Island is Famous Outside the Country
One famous Catholic religious tradition in Flores is filled with Catholic congregations from abroad. The people of Larantuka in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, have an Easter tradition called Semana Santa.
Semana Santa is one of the religious ritual processions that is still carried out today. This ritual is considered essential for the Catholic community of Larantuka every Easter.
Semana Santa comes from the Portuguese word for Holy Week. The ritual involves fasting for 40 days with communal prayer starting on Ash Wednesday.
The story continues with the story of a young man named Resiona, who found the statue of Tuan Ma on the coast of Larantuka.
The statue was placed in a korke (traditional house) and honored by the locals as part of ceremonies and worship. Later, a missionary arrived and identified the statue as Santa Maria, the Mother of Jesus.
Although the procession activity is recorded as having taken place in 1617, the exact history of the statue’s arrival is still a mystery. The King of Larantuka kept it secret at the time, as it was considered taboo to discuss it with the locals.
Of course, with the government’s support, this tradition can be increasingly recognized, and foreign tourists can be invited to take religious tours in Flores Island.
