Covid kills three Indonesian priests, infects archbishop
Merauke prelate and 28 nuns test positive as the number of cases nationwide passes 1 million
Archbishop Petrus Canisius Mandagi of Merauke, seen here in a 2018 image, was infected with Covid-19 on Jan. 29, the day before he was due to preside over the ordination of deacons and priests in Amboina Diocese. (Photo: Katharina R. Lestari/UCA News)
Three Divine Word (SVD) priests in Indonesia have died of Covid-19 in the last four days, while an archbishop and dozens of nuns at a convent have been infected as cases across the country surpassed one million.
Father Jusuf Halim, 65, died on Jan. 29 at a hospital in the Tangerang suburb of Jakarta, according to Father Gregorius Genane Kaha, SVD provincial in Java.
Covid-19 kills Indonesian priest, lays low bishop
Several other priests in Surabaya also test positive for deadly disease
Bishop Vincentius Sutikno Wijaksono of Surabaya, East Java, has tested positive for Covid-19 and is being treated at a Catholic hospital in Surabaya. (Photo supplied)
An Indonesian priest has died of Covid-19, while his bishop and several other priests in the same diocese have tested positive for the virus, a diocesan official in East Java revealed on Jan. 13.
Vincentian Father Agustinus Dodik Ristanto, the parish priest of Christ the King Church in Surabaya, died on Jan. 11, said the official from Surabaya Diocese’s secretariat who said he had also tested positive and wished to remain anonymous.