The Cathedral Church ”Hati Kudus Yesus” Makassar, Makassar - Indonesia

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The term cathedral is derived from Latin “cathedra” means a seat or chair. The chair on this term is a Christian church which contains the seat of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Therefore, it can be interpreted as the cathedral church of the bishop's official seat, or more briefly referred to by the Church Diocese.

There are at least 37 cathedrals can be found in Indonesia, one of which is the cathedral church ”Hati Kudus Yesus” of Makassar in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The church that was established in 1898 is now considered as the oldest Catholic Church in Makassar and even in the whole regions of South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi.

In addition to serve as the oldest church in Makassar or even in the whole regions of South Sulawesi and Southeast Sulawesi, the Cathedral Church of Makassar has also been designated as one of the cultural heritages in Makassar. The original form of the building can still be found now although it has been renovated several times in the past. Looking more inside to the building, the architecture slightly imitated to the Gothic architecture, which was originally designed by an engineer from Europe named Swartbol. He returned to Europe when the building has not been completed and then he was replaced by an irrigation expert named S. Fischer. Considering S. Fischer only had a little experience of Gothic architecture, the church design was finally handed over to a Chinese named Thio A Tek.

One of the prominent features of Gothic architecture is the presence of plying buttress, a kind of sloping beam functioned to drift and to strengthen the roof, as well as to demonstrate an aesthetic element. Another feature includes the bell tower that was built higher than the type during the Romanika era, and the use of high taper bows. This style is clearly visible on the front of the main building of the Cathedral Church of Makassar. Besides having the characteristic of Gothic style, the church also has three ancient bells (a gift from Mr Scharpf in 1923) which can be found now in a tower located on the south side of the building.

According to a source, since the Cathedral Church of Makassar assigned to the Stasi and the Parish Church in 1892 to 1997, the church has been recorded to have about 61 priests, 14,860 of people were baptized, and 2,567 of couple were blessed. Up to the present, the church that occupies a beautiful, well-maintained, and clean environment still serves as a center of activity for Catholics. In fact, the board of the church welcomes to anyone who wants to visit, both worship and tour.

The location of The cathedral church ”Hati Kudus Yesus” of Makassar is located at Jl. Kajaolalido No. 14, Makassar, South Sulawesi province, Indonesia.