The courtyard of Jakarta Cathedral felt so warm that afternoon. Based on observations, thousands of people were seen queuing up, taking turns under the cool white tents that stood along the courtyard. Some of them had been queuing to enter the church since 2:00 p.m.
Some came holding hands with their partners, some parents guided their children's small steps, and some came alone. They looked neat in their best clothes.
At around 3:00 p.m., officials began to open the entrance, and the growing number of congregants slowly entered in an orderly manner, filling the total capacity of 5,000 seats provided at the Jakarta Cathedral, with 800 of them inside the church.
The queue moved in an orderly manner without crowding. They passed through the inspection area first and then registration, until finally taking their assigned seats.
A unique Christmas tree stands out, made from rice sacks and coconut shells, symbolizing simplicity. Many parishioners pause before Mass begins to take photos together.
Outside the fence, traffic in front of Jakarta Cathedral was normal, although it was occasionally congested due to the arrival of officials or congregants crossing from the direction of Istiqlal Mosque.
A member of the Jakarta Cathedral congregation, Lukas, said he was excited to attend the second mass. He also felt safe and comfortable with the presence of security officers guarding the outside and inside of the church.
"This is my first time here. Since it's a cathedral, I wanted to experience the atmosphere of a cathedral church. I'm really happy. The comfort level around this church is pretty good. In terms of safety, it's very safe because there are many police officers," said Lukas, who was attending mass at this church for the first time.
According to Lukas, tolerance is important so that all religious communities in Indonesia can worship safely and comfortably without hesitation.
"Tolerance is mandatory. Even though we are different, we must tolerate each other. When it comes to worship, we should tolerate each other so that we can worship comfortably, without any problems. When we worship, we must feel safe," he concluded.
Not only at Jakarta Cathedral, scenes of tolerance and security were also seen at a number of other churches, such as GPIB Immanuel Jakarta and Santa Perawan Maria Ratu Church, Blok Q Parish. The Joint Security Post for Christmas 2025 and New Year 2026 was located just outside the church area.
Muslim youth on guard
That afternoon, dozens of members of the Multipurpose Ansor Brigade (Banser) together with the Indonesian National Police (Polri) provided security for the 2025 Christmas and 2026 New Year celebrations.
In addition to being involved in security, their presence also conveyed a message about the beauty of togetherness and harmony among religious communities. A total of 147,000 joint personnel were deployed by the Indonesian National Police, and at least 10,000 personnel from Banser to provide security.
During a visit to Jakarta Cathedral, National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo said that the police also involved community groups such as Banser and the Muhammadiyah Youth Command (Kokam) in providing security to ensure the safety and comfort of Catholic and Christian worshippers.
"This is also part of the manifestation of Bhineka Tunggal Ika, how all elements of society come together without distinguishing religion, all united to help provide a sense of security," he continued.
In the DKI Jakarta area itself, 5,044 personnel from the joint team, including members of the community, were deployed to a number of areas, particularly to 14 churches that were prioritized for increased security.
Not alone, a number of important officials also visited Jakarta Cathedral, ranging from Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polkam) Djamari Chaniago, Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri) Tito Karnavian, Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung, and Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) General Agus Subiyanto.
On the same occasion, Djamari also wanted to emphasize that the government would ensure that people celebrating Christmas and New Year could worship safely and comfortably without any disturbances.
"We also want to assure everyone that all of these events will take place and can be enjoyed, because we are maintaining peace among Catholics here so that they can calmly carry out their Christmas worship," said Djamari.
Christmas celebrations at Jakarta Cathedral were held in several sessions for Christmas Eve Mass and Christmas Day Mass. Christmas Eve Mass on Wednesday (12/24/2025) was divided into two sessions, at 5:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Western Indonesian Time.
Meanwhile, on Thursday (12/25/2025), Jakarta Cathedral held four sessions divided according to congregational segments. At 8:30 a.m. for the Pontifical Mass, 11:00 a.m. for the children's mass, 4:00 p.m. for the elderly mass, and 6:00 p.m. for the general mass.
The Archbishop of Jakarta, Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo, welcomed and appreciated the role of the government, the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the Indonesian National Police (Polri), as well as other elements of society who helped ensure the security and comfort of the worship service.
"We are certainly very excited and happy to be visited by our leaders, both civilian and military, as well as the police. The presence of all of you government officials reassures us that whenever there is something for us Catholics to celebrate, you are here with us every year to strengthen and encourage us," said Suharyo.
Head of the Jakarta Banser Regional Coordination Unit, Adin Tomy Widianto, explained that his unit routinely participates in providing security on Christmas Day every year. This is done in order to maintain tolerance and democracy, as well as to ensure that people celebrating Christmas can worship safely and comfortably.
"We also have an important role to play in protecting Jakarta. Jakarta must be safe from all disturbances so that people in Jakarta who celebrate Christmas or New Year's Eve can worship properly, in safe, comfortable, orderly conditions, without any obstacles or doubts," said Tomy.
During the Christmas and New Year period, Banser DKI Jakarta deployed around 500 personnel to provide security at around 200 churches. At Jakarta Cathedral, they stood guard outside the church, assisted the Indonesian National Armed Forces and National Police in providing security, and helped congregants who wanted to enter the church grounds.
Security personnel stationed at every corner of places of worship, he said, were not only there to provide a sense of calm for worshippers, but also to send a positive signal to market players. This stability ensured that logistics channels, shopping centers, and tourist destinations continued to operate at full capacity without hindrance.
In fact, he said, a young Banser member, Riyanto, 25, was killed while on guard duty when a bomb exploded at the Eben Haezer Church in Mojokerto.
When talking about the courage and commitment of Banser members in providing security, we cannot ignore the incident that occurred in 2000 in Mojokerto, East Java, where a Banser cadre, Riyanto, sacrificed his life while guarding Christmas Eve Mass.
Riyanto, who was 25 years old at the time, died in a bomb explosion while saving congregants who were celebrating Christmas at the Eben Haezer Church in Mojokerto on December 24, 2000. Riyanto became a symbol of tolerance and courage for saving many people in the church.
Since then, the Ansor Youth Movement Center has instructed its members to assist the police in providing security.
"That is one of our motivations, for our Banser friends. Riyanto is an example of someone who is willing to sacrifice his body and soul for tolerance and peace, especially in Jakarta and Indonesia in general," explained Tomy.
Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, experienced a dark period in its security history when acts of terrorism targeted places of worship and public facilities in December 2000. At least 18 people were killed in the tragedy orchestrated by Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
JI also carried out a bomb attack in Bali on October 12, 2002, killing 202 people, the majority of whom were Australian citizens, making it the deadliest terrorist tragedy to date.
Most recently, an explosion at SMAN 72 Jakarta on November 7 in the school area resulted in at least 96 people being injured and rushed to the hospital. An in-depth investigation revealed that exposure to violent digital content had an influence on the perpetrator.