Ganjuran Church, Catholic pilgrimage church in Bantul, Indonesia
The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a joglo-style building with 600 square metres of Javanese carvings, including wajikan parallelograms and wooden pineapples. Its altar features angels dressed as wayang orang characters. The church stands on a 2.5-hectare site that also holds a 10-metre Hindu-styled candi, a pastors' residence and a car park, 17 kilometres south of Yogyakarta.
The Schmutzer family founded the church in 1924 while running their sugar factory nearby. This made it the oldest church in the Bantul administrative region and the first Catholic site of this scale to exist there.
The church's name comes from its dedication to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and liturgies may be held in Javanese or Indonesian, with Javanese attire sometimes required. Gamelan and keroncong music accompany services, and the congregation of farmers, merchants and labourers numbers around 8,000.
The church stands 17 kilometres south of Yogyakarta in Ganjuran, Bambanglipuro, Bantul, on a 2.5-hectare site with parking, the church, the candi, the pastor's residence and other buildings. Mass is held regularly, with liturgy in Javanese or Indonesian; at times Javanese attire is required. Gamelan and keroncong music may accompany services.
Standing near the main building is a structure styled like a Hindu temple, sharing architectural features with the Prambanan Temple complex. This unusual pairing shows how the site brings together different religious traditions within its grounds.
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