Anicetus Bongsu Antonius Sinaga, (25 September 1941 – 7 November 2020) was the Indonesian

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

bishop of the Diocese of Sibolga and then Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Medan from 2009 to 2018.

Biography

Sinaga was born in Nagadolok in

Simalungun Regency Simalungun Regency is a regency in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Its seat was formerly at Pematangsiantar, but this city was in recent years separated from the Regency and made into an independent city (''kota''), although it remains geographically su ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1969. He served as a bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of

Sibolga Sibolga (formerly sometimes Siboga) is a city and a port located in the natural harbor of Sibolga Bay on the west coast of North Sumatra province, in Indonesia. It is located on the western side of North Sumatra, facing the Indian Ocean and is ...

, Indonesia from 1981 until 2004, when he was installed as Coadjutor Archbishop of the archdiocese

Medan Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four main ...

. He was appointed archbishop of Medan in 2009, succeeding

Alfred Gonti Pius Datubara Alfred Gonti Pius Datubara, (born 12 February 1934) was the Indonesian Roman Catholic archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Medan, Archdiocese of Medan from 1976 to 2009. Datubara was born in Lawe Bekung in Southeast Aceh Regency, Indon ...

. He was a member of the

Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...

. In addition to his life as clergy Sinaga has also written about

Toba Toba may refer to: Languages * Toba Sur language, spoken in South America * Batak Toba, spoken in Indonesia People * Toba people, indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco in South America * Toba Batak people, a sub-ethnic group of Batak people from ...

spirituality, later publishing a book expanding on his dissertation from

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (french: Université de Louvain, link=no; nl, Universiteit Leuven, link=no) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of ...

titled ''The Toba-Batak High God: Transcendence and Immanence''.

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

accepted his resignation as Archbishop of Medan on 7 December 2018. On 20 October 2020, it was reported that Sinaga had tested positive for the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

virus. Sinaga died in hospital on 7 November 2020.

References

External links

1941 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Indonesia 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Indonesia People from Simalungun Regency Capuchin bishops People of Batak descent Roman Catholic writers KU Leuven alumni Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia {{Indonesia-RC-archbishop-stub