Good Friday and Friday Prayers Coexist at Puja Mandala
Rotman Naibaho was seen busy directing the motorbikes of Friday prayer congregants exiting the parking area at the Puja Mandala Worship Centre. While managing the parking, he also guided the flow of worshippers entering the Catholic Church of Mary Mother of All Nations in Nusa Dua, Badung, to attend the Good Friday mass on Friday (3/4/2026).
At Puja Mandala, the Masjid Agung Ibnu Batutah and the Catholic Church of Mary Mother of All Nations stand side by side. After Friday prayers concluded, Catholic worshippers began arriving, even from 12:00 Wita, although the mass was only set to start two hours later, to secure spots inside the church.
“Praise the Lord, the Friday service went well earlier, coinciding with the Catholic one. Meanwhile, we are still waiting for guests to attend Good Friday, and next door at the mosque, Friday prayers have already finished,” said Rotman, a member of the church’s Easter committee, on Friday (3/4/2026).
The proximity of the two worship services made parking arrangements a primary concern to avoid congestion. Parking for Friday prayer congregants utilised areas within the Puja Mandala complex up to the front of the church and vihara. Meanwhile, parking for Catholic worshippers was directed to the eastern side, across from the Puja Mandala area.
The church also scheduled the masses to avoid clashing with Friday prayer times. The Way of the Cross service was held at 09:00 Wita, while the first Good Friday mass began at 14:00 Wita.
“Our mass starts at 2 o’clock. Friday prayers, well, start around 12. So, friends going to the mosque can use the parking area outside here. For us Catholics, we’ve arranged parking on the east side there, so it doesn’t interfere with their parking,” said Ignatius Jehabut, Security Coordinator of the Parish Security Task Force at Mary Mother of All Nations.
With such arrangements in place, Ignatius observed that worshippers felt comfortable as there was no excessive crowding. Traffic around the area also remained smooth.
“The response from the worshippers is that they’re just happy because there’s no crowding here. That means traffic outside is also smooth, so when prayers finish next door, our worshippers enter. It all goes smoothly,” he added.
At the mosque, Muhammad Hijri Azhari, one of the Friday prayer congregants, said he would head straight home after prayers upon receiving an appeal from mosque officials to make space for Good Friday preparations by the Catholic community.
“So earlier, when Friday prayers finished, we were urged to leave quickly because there’s a specific event next door. So after finishing prayers, we were asked to go home promptly so the church can carry out their event,” he said.
He noted that the number of Friday prayer attendees was as crowded as usual, up to the second floor of the mosque. Despite coinciding with Good Friday, he felt no difference in his worship.
“Yes, this doesn’t interfere because there’s already cooperation with the church. Here, there are teams, for example, the parking team has been formed,” he stated.
In his view, interfaith tolerance in the Puja Mandala area has been well-established and continues to be maintained.