History of Ledalero Institute of Philosophy and Creative Technology

Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat Katolik (STFK) Ledalero (Ledalero Catholic School of Philosophy) is a continuation and an integral part of Seminari Tinggi St. Paulus Ledalero (St. Paul Major Seminary at Ledalero). As an educational institution for candidates for the priesthood in the Catholic Church, this major seminary is the continuation of the initiative which was undertaken on February 2, 1926, when Bishop Arnoldus Vestralen, SVD inaugurated the establishment of the first minor seminary in Sikka.

Responding to the call and encouragement from Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922) to educate local clergy through Maximum Illud issued on November 30, 1919, the leader of the Catholic Church in Nusa Tenggara established the first minor seminary in Sikka on February 2, 1926. After 3 batches this minor seminary was then moved to Mataloko, Ngada in 1929. Out of 26 seminarians from these 3 batches, 19 seminarians transferred to Mataloko.

In 1932 the first batch completed their studies at the high school level. The discussion on the continuation of their studies had not been finalized. In this transition 5 prospective students from the first batch were given lectures on philosophy by P.C. Molenaar, SVD in 1932. In the following year the first batch of 7 SVD novices were enrolled at the novitiate at Mataloko, then 3 novices in 1934 and 4 novices in 1935. In 1936 the first batch completed their studies in philosophy and began their studies in theology. The second batch began their studies in philosophy and the third batch were still at the novitiate.

Out of 14 SVD novices, 10 people graduated from the seminary at Sikka, i.e. 4 people from the first batch and 3 people each from the next two batches. Out of these 10 novices, 6 people (60%) were ordained as priests, one of them was the second Indonesian who was ordained as a bishop, i.e. Gabriel Manek, SVD.

The education for these SVD novices was conducted in a building called Rumah Tinggi, opposite Seminari Menengah Mataloko (Mataloko Minor Seminary). In this place a major seminary for the education of local clergy began and, in the meantime, they were looking for a better place and waiting for an authorization from the Vatican.

The agreed place was Ledalero in the Kingdom of Sikka, a hill with an area of 18 ha and a distance of 9 km from Maumere. The construction of buildings began in 1936. On May 20, 1937 the authorization for the establishment of the major seminary was granted by the Vatican. Based on this authorization from the Vatican, on June 3 the SVD superior general in Rome stipulated that the major seminary be moved from Mataloko to Ledalero. In August 1937 the major seminary was inaugurated at Ledalero. The patron saint of this major seminary is St. Paul and thus this educational institution for candidates for the priesthood was named Seminari Tinggi St. Paulus Ledalero.

The number of candidates grew over time, in line with the improvement of education and the establishment of new minor seminaries, such as Seminari San Dominggi at Hokeng (1950), Seminari St. Maria Imaculata at Lalian (1950), Seminari Roh Kudus at Tuka, Bali (1953) and Seminari Pius XII at Kisol (1955). However, not all became priests. Out of the number of those enrolled in the novitiate, only an average of 40% became priests.

To give an opportunity for these former seminarians to continue their studies at the same institution, the meeting of Panitia Seminari of the Province of Ende on April 15, 1969, which was also attended by SVD Superior General John Musinski, stipulated that Seminari Tinggi St. Paulus Ledalero take the form of a school that could award a degree. This institution was named Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat dan Teologi Katolik (STF/TK) Ledalero (Ledalero Catholic School of Philosophy and Theology). In the same year its operational permit was granted by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia.

On June 14, 1971 the government granted registered status to the BA or sarjana muda program (undergraduate diploma) in accordance with decree of the Directorate General of Higher Education of the Department of Education and Culture No. 257/DPT/B/1971. In 1976 STFTK Ledalero was granted recognized status and on January 22, 1981 equalized status for the BA program and registered status for the sarjana lengkap program (bachelor’s degree). In 1984 the bachelor’s degree program achieved recognized status and the name of the institution was changed into Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat Katolik (STFK) Ledalero. In 1990 the bachelor’s degree program achieved equalized status.

The master’s degree program was initiated in 2002 under the auspices of the Department of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. The area of concentration of this master’s degree program is contextual theology. In 2004 the master’s degree program achieved recognized status in accordance with Decree No. DJ.IV/HK.00.5/96/2004.

The administrators of this school have made efforts to improve the quality over time and the results have been satisfactory. Since the implementation of the accreditation system, STFK Ledalero has always been accredited B with a score of 358, only lacking 3 scores to attain Grade A. The last accreditation was carried out in 2016.

In the beginning the seminary and the Catholic school of philosophy only enrolled 2 groups of students, i.e. SVD seminarians and diocesan seminarians. The diocesan seminarians at first stayed at Ledalero, but then in 1955 a campus was built for them in Ritapiret, lying about 3 km from Ledalero. Since its establishment this institution has also enrolled a group of lay students, i.e. former seminarians.

Carmelites began to send their students to this institution in 1995, Rogationists in 2005, Vocationists in 2007, Camillians in 2010, Stigmatines and Somascans in 2012, CJD in 2014, and Barnabites in 2015. Several convents also began sending their students but every year. In 1958 SSpS sent their first batch of students to this institution, followed by CIJ, CSV, and some other convents. The admission of students who are not affiliated with any religious congregations began in the 1990s.

The numbers of new students grew decade by decade. In the first two years at the end of the 1960s, the number of enrolled students was 68 people. In the 1970s the number of enrolled students was 375 people, or an average of 37.5 people per year. In the 1980s the number of enrolled students drastically increased to 1,116 people, or an average of 112 people per year. In the 1990s the number of enrolled students increased to 1,339 people, or an average of 134 people per year. Last decade the number of enrolled students was 1,454 people, or an average of 145 people per year. In the last 8 years, the number of new students drastically increased to 1,517 people, or an average of 190 people per year. Therefore, in these 50 years the total number of new students enrolled at STFK Ledalero is 5,869 people, or an average of 117 people per year.

Until December 2018 the student body of STFK Ledalero is 1,109 people, i.e. 961 bachelor’s degree students and 148 master’s degree students. The biggest group out of 961 bachelor’s degree students is diocesan seminarians (246 students, 25.6%), followed by SVD (228 students, 23.7%), lay students (204 students, 21.2%), Scalabrinians (64 students, 6.7%), Carmelites (51 students, 5.3%), Rogationists (42 students, 4.4%), Camilians (35 students, 3.6%), Somascans (33 students, 3.4%), Vocationists (20 students, 2.1%), Stigmatines (16 students, 1.7%), and other congregations (22 students, 2.3%). Diocesan seminarians (44 students, 29.7%) are also the biggest group at the master’s degree level, followed by SVD (43 students, 29.1%), lay students (25 students, 16.9%), Carmelites (13 students, 8.8%), Camillians (8 students, 5.4%), and other religious congregations (15 students, 10.1%). Other congregations that send their students to this institution are Rogationists, CJD, M.Ss.Cc., Somascans, Vocationists, Stigmatines, and Trappists.

The number of lay students grows over time at this educational institution for candidates for the priesthood. However, this situation results from an increase in the number of former seminarians rather than from an increase in the number of enrolled lay students, which is very small. The number of lay students increases over time because more and more seminarians leave the seminary.

The increase in the student body of this educational institution greatly depends on two factors. The first factor is the number of seminaries, both minor and major seminaries, in Nusa Tenggara. Until the end of the 1950s, this educational institution only depended on one minor seminary, i.e. Seminari Menengah Mataloko. Since the end of the 1950s, a number of other minor seminaries sent their graduates, i.e Seminari Menengah Hokeng, Seminari Menengah Lalian, Seminari Menengah Kisol, and Seminari Menengah Tuka. Since the mid-1980s several minor seminaries were established, i.e Seminari St. Rafael at Oepoi, Kupang, Seminari Sinar Buana at Weetebula, Seminari Yohanes Paulus II at Labuan Bajo, and Seminari Bunda Segala Bangsa at Maumere. Some graduates from these minor seminaries enrolled at this Catholic school of philosophy. In addition to minor seminaries, several major seminaries were also established around Ledalero. Most of these major seminaries enrolled new high-school graduates. Thus, an increase in enrollments is to be expected.

The second factor is the reluctance of former seminarians to transfer to another study program when they leave the seminary. Although from the perspective of job opportunity, philosophy and theology do not offer much opportunity, these former seminarians continue their studies in the study program because of some considerations.

Focusing on the education for candidates for the priesthood, this institution does not enroll as many students as most of other higher education institutions. The biggest number of new students is around 200 people and the total number of bachelor’s and master’s degree students is only around 1000 people.

As an educational institution for seminarians and missionaries, graduates from this Catholic school of philosophy not only work in Indonesia but also abroad. For several religious congregations, the assignment of missionaries to different parts of the world depends on their members who graduated from STFK Ledalero. From SVD, around 500 missionaries have worked abroad since the beginning of the 1980s. It can be said that STFK Ledalero is one of the sources of missionaries in different parts of the world. Thus, STFK Ledalero has become the contribution of Flores to the world.