Petrus Josephus Zoetmulder - Departure To Java

Departure To Java

Father J. Willekens, S.J., his mentor at the novitiate, advised Zoetmulder to consider working for the mission on the island of Java. Following his mentor's advise, Zoetmulder departed for the Dutch East Indies as a 19-year novice. He was placed at the Intermediate Seminary in Yogyakarta, Central Java. Surprisingly, three years later his former mentor Willekens himself joined him in Java as a Visiting Apostolic. Upon meeting his former student, Willekens commented that, "In addition to studying philosophy, you must also learn old Javanese." He was introduced to Prof. C. C. Berg, who was an instructor in Surakarta, to help him study the language. In 1931 Zoetmulder graduated cum laude and was made a candidate priest in Girisonta, Ungaran, near Semarang.