On a hope and a prayer

Hope is the unifying factor for the pilgrims -- young and old, Indonesian or foreign -- visiting Sendangsono spring, the country's oldest pilgrimage site for Roman Catholics. From the main road, the pilgrims slowly make their way up the five- kilometer path to the site.

Located in Kulon Progo, some 49 kilometers southwest of Yogyakarta, Sendangsono is so named because there of the spring (sendang in Javanese) and the two giant sono trees (Dalbergia spp) found at the spring.

It became a place of pilgrimage after it was blessed as a source of holy water by Father van Lith, a Dutch Roman Catholic priest from Semarang, who was able to convert many local villagers to his religion.

Jesuit Father Prennthalers suggested that the spring should be designated a holy site, which happened in 1929.

Every May and October, the months for Catholics to venerate the Madonna, believers pay homage at the site. It is now known as the "Lourdes of Java" since it is modeled after the famous pilgrimage site in France.

-- Text and photos by Tarko Sudiarno