• Established on June 25, 1940 as the
Apostolic Vicariate of Semarang, on territory split off from the then
Apostolic Vicariate of Batavia • January 3, 1961: Promoted as
Metropolitan Archdiocese of Semarang • It enjoyed a Papal visit from
Pope John Paul II October 1989. The first Roman Catholic mission in this Archdiocese was established in 1640 when two Dominican priests, Manuel de St Maria, O.P. and Pedro de St Joseph, O.P., acquired land from
Sultan of
Mataram to minister Portuguese Catholic merchants in
Jepara. The earliest mission dispersed as persecution of Catholics by
Netherlands' colonial government. In 1807,
Lambertus Prinsen set up and administered a parish at
Semarang as Semarang was still part of
Apostolic Prefecture of Batavia. In 1818, Prinsen appointed to become
Apostolic Prefect of Batavia. The Semarang parish then administered by two parish priest successors. At 1859,
Ambarawa became a new
outstation by the coming of
Jesuit priests. In 1865, a new outstation in
Yogyakarta was created, followed by
Magelang outstation. At 1904,
Fransiskus Georgius Josephus van Lith, S.J., established a school for teachers in
Muntilan and the spread of new teachers made
Roman Catholic Church developed across
Central Java and even for the whole
Java Island. A
minor seminary was founded in Muntilan in 1911 then moved to Mertoyudan. In 1936, a major
seminary was established in
Yogyakarta. == Ecclesiastical province ==