Jakarta Cathedral Church Prepares 5,000 Seats for Christmas Celebration 2025

JAKARTA - The Jakarta Cathedral Church has prepared a capacity of around 5,000 seats for people who will attend the series of Christmas celebrations in 2025 by utilizing the entire church complex, including a number of additional rooms and tents.

"Regarding the preparation of Christmas at the Jakarta Cathedral, we provide this complex with various rooms and tents that we have prepared. We have a capacity of 5,000 seats available," said the Head Pastor of the Jakarta Cathedral Church, Romo Hani Rudi Hartoko at the Jakarta Cathedral, Tuesday, quoted by Antara.

Romo Hani said that the capacity in the main church building was provided for about 800 seats, so his party still implemented a registration system to regulate the number of attendees.

According to him, the registration system has been implemented for the past few years so that people do not crowd, considering the high enthusiasm, while the capacity of the main church space is limited.

"So that's so that we can avoid because of the enthusiasm of people who want to go to church but the capacity is limited, so we systematize it with registration," said Romo Hani.

Romo Hani explained that the Christmas Eve Mass on Wednesday, December 24, will be held twice, at 17.00 WIB and 20.30 WIB.

Meanwhile, the Christmas Mass on Thursday, December 25, will be held four times. The Pontifical Mass with the Archbishop of Jakarta Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo is scheduled for 08.30 WIB and will be broadcast live by TVRI.

The next Mass at 11.00 WIB is for children, while the Mass at 16.00 WIB is prioritized for the elderly, and the Mass at 18.00 WIB is open to the public.

The series of Christmas celebrations will continue with the Closing Mass on Tuesday, December 31, at 18.00 WIB, and the New Year's Mass on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, at 08.30 WIB, 11.00 WIB, and 18.00 WIB.

Apart from liturgical preparations, the Jakarta Cathedral also prepared for the possibility of visits by state officials, including the Governor of DKI Jakarta along with the ranks of Forkopimda and FKUB, as well as the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture accompanied by the TNI Commander and the National Police Chief.

Romo Hani said the visit was an opportunity for officials to convey greetings to the people, as well as a form of appreciation for cross-party support and coordination in maintaining the smooth and safe celebration of Christmas.

As for parking lots, the Jakarta Cathedral Church has collaborated with various parties such as the Istiqlal Mosque, the Indonesian Post Office, and the Santa Ursula school.