Young Spanish woman recounts Pope Francis’ visit to Indonesia

Socorro Vázquez, a 27-year-old Catholic from Seville, tells ACI Prensa how she experienced Pope Francis’ visit to Indonesia and her experience of faith in Jakarta, the city that welcomed her for a year for work and where the values ​​of Islam “are They breathe with every step you take.”

The young Spanish woman, who was always “very excited” to live abroad, was assigned Jakarta as her destination after applying for the Scholarship Program of the Spanish Institute of Foreign Trade (ICEX).

“A true gift”

For Socorro, who will return to Spain next December, the Holy Father’s recent visit “has been a true gift and totally unexpected at the time I had to choose a destination.”

In Jakarta, says the young woman, “the practices and values ​​of Islam are breathed with every step you take. This makes the cultural shock with Spain accentuate and, sometimes, the context reminds you that you are far from home and from your loved ones.”

For this reason, he emphasizes that Pope Francis’ visit “meant marking a date on the calendar for which I could be excited and feel grateful for being here precisely this year.”

Although he grew up in a Catholic environment, he expresses that “living abroad has made me question my beliefs and, curiously, it also reaffirmed me in them.”

Being Catholic in the largest Muslim country in the world

Despite living in the largest Muslim country in the world, Socorro points out that “today being Catholic, wherever you are, is not easy. And by this I mean that, on many occasions, it means swimming against the current.”

In the case of Indonesia, where nearly 200 million Muslims live, he remarks that “it is admirable the tolerance that exists between religions, the feeling of community that surrounds every practice of faith, regardless of religion, and the naturalness with which They claim to be believers.”

In fact, he assures that “not believing in a God here is inappropriate. It is a highly spiritual country and that is palpable in the people and their values.”

Although Jakarta is “dotted with mosques,” she says she is grateful because there is a Catholic church near her office and another very close to where she lives.

“They both have mass in English on Sundays and are always full. In that sense, the truth is that I have had it very easy,” she points out.

A visit “highly valued” by Catholics

The young Spanish woman had the opportunity to attend the massive closing Mass that Pope Francis presided at the “Gelora Bung Karno” stadium on the afternoon of September 5.

“I was very excited to see an entire stadium with 100,000 people singing and vibrating with joy. People came from many parts of the country, with their typical attire. It was the mixture of the diversity of peoples that characterizes Indonesia, united by the same faith,” she points out.

Although he could only understand “some single words” from the Holy Father’s Italian homily, he assures that he will always remember those with which he concluded: “Make a mess.”

This, for the young woman, means that the Pontiff asks that Catholicism “not be an individualistic religion, but rather seek to change the environment and bring people closer to God.”

Finally, he explains that in a country like Indonesia “in-person presence is very important, both on a business level and in any other context.”

“I think that, in that sense, the Pope’s visit will be highly valued by the country’s Catholics and has shown that, even though they are a minority, they have filled an entire stadium and have waiting lists,” he highlights.

Furthermore, he specifies that Catholic Indonesians “tend to interact with the parish community to which they belong and, with the visit of Pope Francis, a much greater sense of community has been created.”