Originally published at National Catholic Register
About 70% of the 2 million residents of Flores are Catholic. The island has more than 2,700 Catholic churches.
A volcanic eruption destroyed a monastery in Indonesia on Sunday, leaving at least 10 people dead, including a Catholic sister.
Just minutes before midnight on Sunday, Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on the Island of Flores erupted, spewing ash 6,500 feet high and destroying local villages, causing residents to evacuate. Locals did not receive alarms or warnings of the eruption, according to a report by Asia News.
Sister Nikolin Padjo, head of a local monastery in Boru, Wulanggitang, died in the eruption, according to a report by Union of Catholic Asian News. Sister Nikolin was a Missionary Servant of the Holy Spirit (SSpS) and lived in the Hokeng Sisters Monastery. Another sister reportedly went missing as the sisters fled amid the volcanic ash, according to The Associated Press.
The San Domingo Minor Seminary in Hokeng, less than 4 miles from the crater in the Wulanggitang district, was also damaged, and at least 14 people living in the seminary were injured. An entire family was also among those whose lives were claimed by the volcano, according to Asia News.
About 70% of the
