By the time Fr. Stefanus Ferriandis Harsono walked toward the altar for his priestly ordination on April 29, he had already spent years caring for children in hospital wards, listening to anxious parents, and practicing medicine as a paediatric specialist.
But inside the Church of Our Lady in Cirebon, West Java, the physician known to many as “Dr. Yandis” embraced a different vocation, becoming one of the rare medical doctors in Indonesia to enter the diocesan priesthood.
The ordination of the 46-year-old paediatrician drew attention not only because of his unusual background, but also because it reflected a lifelong path shaped by service, faith, and quiet discernment.
Priests with medical backgrounds remain rare in Indonesia, placing Fr. Yandis among a small number of Catholic clergy and religious who once pursued careers in medicine before entering Church ministry. His journey bridges two worlds often associated with healing: medicine and pastoral care.
Before entering seminary formation, Fr. Yandis worked at several hospitals, including Borromeus Hospital and St. Yusup Hospital in Bandung. Patients and colleagues knew him as a paediatrician. Within Church circles, however, signs of a possible vocation had long been noticed.
Born and raised in Jakarta, Fr. Yandis came from St. Anna Church in Duren Sawit Parish, East Jakarta. He attended Strada St. Anna Junior High School before continuing his studies at Canisius High School in Menteng, Central Jakarta, one of the country’s best-known Catholic schools.
After graduating from high school, he enrolled at the Faculty of Medicine of Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, where he studied from 1998 to 2005. He later specialized in paediatrics at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila from 2008 to 2018 before completing an equivalency program at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, West Java.
Even while immersed in medicine, Church life remained part of his daily rhythm. From a young age, he served as an altar server and remained active in pastoral activities.
During his formation as a diocesan priest candidate in the Diocese of Bandung, he carried out pastoral work at the “Sahabat” tutoring center from 2016 to 2018 and later became an altar server mentor at St. Paul Church in Toha Parish, Bandung, from 2019 to 2020.
At the same time, he continued practicing medicine while also serving the visually impaired community at Wyata Guna in Bandung.
Those who knew him during his university years recalled a man whose priestly vocation seemed visible even then.
“We were in the same academic circle. Fr. Yandis entered in 1998, and I in 2000. We were both active in campus pastoral ministry,” said Dr. Valentinus Yudy SpFM, a forensic specialist who studied with him at Atma Jaya Catholic University.
“From there, I came to know him as a calm person, not very talkative, and always neatly dressed,” he said.
“Even during our college years, we jokingly called him ‘Father’ because signs of his vocation were already visible. He is friendly, warm, and always has a welcoming smile.”
Before his ordination, Fr. Yandis completed a Pastoral Orientation Year at the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Buah Batu Parish, Bandung, as well as his diaconate year at St. Mary Church in Cirebon.
Following his ordination by Bishop Antonius Subianto Bunjamin of Bandung, the newly ordained priest was assigned to St. Mary Parish Church in Cirebon for his first pastoral ministry.
“The priest has been officially assigned to stay at the same parish in St. Mary Parish Church,” Fr. Samong, OSC, secretary of the Diocese of Bandung, told LiCAS News on Tuesday.
Fr. Yandis has largely remained silent amid online discussions surrounding aspects of his personal life before ordination.
“For the time being, I prefer to remain silent,” he said briefly.
His story now adds another chapter to the little-known history of Indonesian clergy and religious with medical backgrounds.
Among Indonesian Jesuits, two figures remain widely remembered: Fr. Henricus Constant van Deinse, SJ, a physician and composer who created the Gamelan Soepra in 1957, and Fr. Th. Helsloot, SJ, who studied medicine before becoming a missionary in Java and later serving as rector of Mertoyudan Minor Seminary.
Outside the Jesuit order, other religious figures have also combined medicine and ministry, including Dr. Bambang, OFM, director of St. Yusup Hospital in Yogyakarta, and Sr. Dr. Ludgardis, CIJ, who serves at Damian Hospital on the remote island of Lembata in East Nusa Tenggara.
For Fr. Yandis, the journey from physician to priest reflects two vocations rooted in the same mission: caring for human life.
