Frans van Lith

Who was Frans van Lith?

Franciscus Georgius Josephus van Lith, SJ or often called Frans van Lith or affectionately Romo van Lith, born 17 May, 1863 - died 9 January, 1926; was a Jesuit priest from Oirschot, Netherlands who pioneered the Catholic mission in Java, especially Central Java.

He baptized the first Javanese at Sendangsono, founded a school for teachers in Muntilan, and fought for the education of Javanese people during the Dutch colonial rule.

He was renowned because of his ability to synchronize Roman Catholic teachings with that of Kejawen so that it could be accepted by the Javanese societies. Today in Eastern and Central java, Catholicism is a religion practised by quite a number of Javanese and people from the Chinese ethnic group.

Pope John Paul II, when giving a speech in Yogyakarta in 10 October 1989, said that he stood on that day at the center of the Island of Java to commemorate those who had laid the foundations of the Catholic people, Father van Lith, SJ and two of his disciples, Mgr Soegijapranata and IJ Kasimo.