Makassar Cathedral: A Preliminary Study of Its Architectural History
Understanding the cathedral’s architectural evolution and historical significance to inform acoustic and lighting design.
Introduction: Understanding the Building Before Designing
Before considering acoustic and lighting interventions at Makassar Cathedral, I began by studying its architectural history. Every intervention takes place within a building that already has its own character shaped by earlier design decisions, successive transformations, and the people who have worshipped there. Understanding that history provides an essential foundation for deciding how new work can contribute sensitively to the cathedral’s future.
Officially known as the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Gereja Hati Yesus Yang Mahakudus), Makassar Cathedral is a place of worship whose architecture has evolved alongside its community. Across generations, its spaces have accommodated prayer, liturgical celebrations, and significant moments in the lives of its congregation. Its historical significance therefore extends beyond its façade and architectural style to the continuity of worship and the memories associated with the building.
This preliminary study asks three questions: what has changed, what remains, and what gives the cathedral its identity? Examining its successive architectural forms helps reveal how each generation responded to new needs while maintaining a connection to the church’s past. It also provides a basis for identifying features and spatial relationships that deserve particular consideration in future interventions.
For my subsequent acoustic and lighting work, this historical understanding establishes the context for design. Before determining how the cathedral should sound or be illuminated, I wanted to understand how it became the place it is today and which qualities should continue to shape its experience for generations to come.
Historical Context: The Cathedral and Its Community
Makassar Cathedral, officially known as Gereja Hati Yesus Yang Mahakudus or the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, stands on Jalan Kajaolalido in central Makassar, South Sulawesi. Its significance extends beyond the congregation that worships there regularly. As the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Makassar, it houses the archbishop’s cathedra, or episcopal chair, and serves as a gathering place for major celebrations of the wider Catholic community. This role was evident during preparations for Archbishop Fransiskus Nipa’s installation in October 2024, when representatives from parishes across the archdiocese were expected to gather there.
The community’s history reaches further back than the present building. The archdiocese’s historical account traces Catholic activity in South Sulawesi to the sixteenth century and describes Makassar as a refuge for Catholics arriving from Portuguese Malacca during the seventeenth century. War and the subsequent consolidation of Dutch control disrupted this presence. The circumstances that eventually produced today’s cathedral emerged much later: colonial permission for Catholic missionaries to reside in Makassar was granted in 1891, followed by the arrival of Father A. Asselbergs, SJ, in 1892. His residence established a more regular basis for pastoral care and the gradual growth of the community.
A permanent place of worship became an important next step. In 1895, land and a house were purchased on Komedistraat, now Jalan Kajaolalido, at the location of the present cathedral. Historian Ahmad Yunani’s study records that the acquisition was supported by money borrowed from religious sisters in Semarang. The same study dates the church’s construction to 1898–1900. These beginnings reveal a building made possible through both local initiative and support from a wider Catholic network.
As the congregation expanded, the original building became inadequate. The parish’s published building history gives a particularly useful explanation of the enlargement initiated in 1939: the church had approximately 200 seats, insufficient for the assembled congregation, while its small sacristy and lack of confessionals and side altars also limited liturgical arrangements. The response involved alterations to the side walls, an enlarged sacristy behind the sanctuary, and additional facilities for worship. The expansion therefore addressed both the number of people attending and the practical requirements of parish life.
Adaptation continued in later decades. The parish account records that the balcony was replaced and enlarged in 1984 to accommodate approximately 120 people. This intervention illustrates how the cathedral’s capacity developed through successive adjustments, alongside the more conspicuous changes to its external appearance.
The recent expansion belongs to this longer history of responding to community needs. In 2018, church leadership and the council decided to pursue a further enlargement as the congregation continued to grow. Construction remained underway in October 2024, according to the parish priest’s contemporary account, and the cathedral was formally dedicated and inaugurated on 30 October 2025. By December 2025, the parish priest described the new worship space as accommodating approximately 1,000–1,200 people, with supplementary areas available for larger celebrations.
For my preliminary architectural study, this history suggests that the cathedral’s identity should be understood through the relationship between its building and its community. Successive generations have inherited a place of worship and adapted it to sustain their shared religious life. Understanding those decisions helps explain why the architecture changed—and provides a foundation for considering which qualities should remain meaningful as the cathedral continues to evolve.
The First Architectural Form: Neo-Gothic Origins
The earliest architectural form of Makassar Cathedral established a recognisable Gothic Revival character through its pointed openings, decorated gables, and slender pinnacles. Historical photographs show a relatively compact church whose architectural identity depended on the relationship between a simple main volume and carefully articulated details. These images provide an important starting point for understanding the building before its subsequent enlargements.
Construction and the People Behind the Building
Ahmad Yunani’s historical study places construction between 1898 and 1900, following the acquisition of the site in 1895. This chronology provides a useful working framework, although accounts differ on the precise commencement date. It should therefore be distinguished from a fully verified sequence of groundbreaking, construction, first use, and blessing.
The parish’s published building history attributes the original design to Swartbol, a military engineering officer. According to this account, he departed for Europe after the foundations had been completed. Responsibility then passed to S. Fischer, an irrigation specialist, while Thio A Tek, a Chinese contractor, undertook the construction. The same account records a delay while iron window frames were awaited from the Netherlands. These details reveal a building process involving several contributors and imported components, although their precise appointments and the spelling of their names remain subject to archival confirmation.
Reading the Original Façade
An early frontal photograph, catalogued by the Tropenmuseum collection as dating from 1900–1920, shows a composition organised around a central entrance. Above the doorway, a pointed decorative gable contains openwork ornament. Higher on the façade, a circular opening sits beneath the apex of the main gable, which is crowned by a cross. Slender pinnacles frame the composition and extend its upward emphasis.
The façade balances a broad, grounded wall surface with a sequence of vertical accents. The doorway establishes the human scale of arrival, while the ornament above it draws attention towards the upper façade. Its sense of height comes partly from this arrangement of openings, pinnacles, and the crowning cross.
Proportions, Openings, and Roofline
An oblique photograph catalogued as 1900–1919 reveals the building’s elongated body beneath a pitched roof. Tall, narrow pointed-arch windows recur along the side elevation, separated by projecting vertical wall elements. Small pinnacles punctuate the upper edges, while a slender open metal turret rises above the roof. Together, these features establish a repeated rhythm along the church’s length.
The parish history describes approximately twenty miniature towers as roof-edge ornament, alongside a small iron tower. This written description broadly corresponds with the repeated pinnacles visible in the early photographs.
Architectural Character and Religious Identity
Taken together, the photographs support describing the early church as Neo-Gothic in its architectural vocabulary. Pointed arches, pinnacles, openwork ornament, and the prominent cross gave the building a recognisable ecclesiastical character. This description concerns the features visible in the historical record.
For my historical study, the significance of this first form lies in how these elements worked together. I read the repeated vertical accents and rising central composition as expressions of aspiration, while the clearly defined entrance connected that symbolic character to the everyday act of entering a place of worship. This is an architectural interpretation of the surviving images, rather than a documented statement of the original designer’s intentions.
Understanding this early composition provides a reference for examining later transformations: which proportions and details survived, which were replaced, and how the cathedral’s religious identity remained legible as its architecture changed.
Makassar’s Roman Catholic church, now Makassar Cathedral, photographed between 1900 and 1919. Photographer unknown. Collectie Wereldmuseum (formerly Tropenmuseum), inventory TM-10016679, via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed CC BY-SA 3.0.
The Second Architectural Form: Expansion and a Changing Architectural Character
By the late 1930s, Makassar’s Catholic congregation had outgrown its original church. The parish’s building history records approximately 200 seats, insufficient to accommodate the community, together with a sacristy that had become too small and a need for confessionals and side altars. The enlargement addressed these practical requirements while substantially changing the building’s architectural composition.
The works are generally associated with the 1939–1941 period, although their precise chronology remains unresolved. Ahmad Yunani’s historical study identifies alterations beginning in 1938–1939 and completion in 1941. The parish account, however, states that Easter was celebrated in the renovated church in 1940. These sources establish the late-1930s transformation, but do not provide a consistent date for its completion.
Expanding the Space for Worship
The parish account describes alterations to both side walls, the removal of four supporting pillars, and an enlarged sacristy behind the sanctuary. Two confessionals were introduced at the rear and two side altars at the front. These interventions responded to the different activities taking place within the church, from collective worship to preparation for Mass and individual confession.
Government heritage documentation provides further insight into the widening of the building. It describes additions along the northern and southern sides of the congregation’s space, incorporating formerly external columns into the interior and relocating pointed coloured-glass windows to the new outer walls. This account suggests that the enlargement reused elements of the earlier architectural arrangement.
From an Ornamental Gable to a Dominant Entrance Tower
The most conspicuous external change was the introduction of a substantial tower connected directly to the entrance. The parish history records the removal of the separate iron bell tower on the southern side and its replacement by this integrated tower.
Comparing the early frontal photograph with C.J. Taillie’s photograph from 1948 reveals a different visual hierarchy. Previously, the central gable, circular opening, and slender pinnacles organised the façade. In the later image, the entrance tower was added to the composition, with broad wall surfaces, vertically arranged openings, and a steep, faceted roof.
The transformation also simplified the silhouette. The numerous small pinnacles prominent in the early views no longer define the visible roofline. Nevertheless, pointed openings and portions of the gabled church body remain evident beside the tower. The resulting architecture combined a more substantial entrance composition with features that continued to recall the earlier church.
Interpreting the Architectural Change
The simplified surfaces and stronger geometric composition may invite comparison with Art Deco-era architecture. For this study, however, that remains a visual interpretation. The available heritage documentation describes the tower as a simplification of Gothic form, while Yunani’s research emphasises the building’s combination of architectural influences. A categorical description of the entire second form as Art Deco would therefore require stronger evidence.
For my preliminary study, the importance of this phase lies in the relationship between architectural change and community use. Enlarging the worship space altered the building’s boundaries, while the new entrance tower changed its public appearance. The cathedral acquired another historical layer through the practical task of accommodating a growing congregation. Understanding that layer helps identify both the continuity of its religious identity and the physical changes through which that continuity was sustained.
Makassar Cathedral in 1948, following the late-1930s enlargement. Photograph by C.J. (Cees) Taillie. Collectie Wereldmuseum (formerly Tropenmuseum), inventory TM-10029315, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Third Architectural Form: Contemporary Expansion
The cathedral’s contemporary expansion began with a familiar challenge: accommodating a growing congregation within a building shaped by earlier generations. According to the project account, church leadership and the council decided in 2018 to pursue an enlargement. The building committee subsequently organised a design-selection exercise, described as a beauty contest, to compare proposals for the cathedral’s future development. Publicly available information does not establish the participating architects, assessment criteria, or winning submission, so the process is best described as a selection of design proposals rather than a verified open architectural competition.
The Relationship Between Historic and New Architecture
The resulting development introduced substantial new construction behind the cathedral’s retained front section. In October 2024, parish priest Father Yulius Malli explained that much of the building was new, while a smaller portion at the front remained because of its heritage status. He also confirmed that construction was still approaching completion as preparations proceeded for Archbishop Fransiskus Nipa’s installation. The cathedral’s appearance in 2024 therefore represents an advanced stage of development, rather than a confirmed completion date.
The accompanying 2024 photograph makes this relationship visible. The familiar central entrance tower remains in the foreground, framed by the broader architecture behind it. Two substantial flanking towers, capped with open metal spires and crosses, establish a wider composition. Pointed arches, paired windows, decorative arcading, and pitched roofs connect the new work visually with the cathedral’s earlier Gothic-inspired vocabulary.
In my reading of this composition, the retained tower acts as a recognisable historical reference within a larger architectural ensemble. Its continuity is particularly evident at the entrance, while the expanded building changes the scale and silhouette of the cathedral beyond it. This visual relationship does not, however, establish how much original material survives elsewhere in the building.
Continuity and Change in Scale and Massing
The second architectural form concentrated attention on a single entrance tower. The contemporary expansion distributes that emphasis across a broader frontage and several vertical elements. The new flanking towers extend the composition laterally, while the larger roof and wall surfaces behind the historic front indicate a substantial increase in building volume.
Although this is a contemporary construction phase, its external language continues to use historical church forms. The pointed openings and spires create a visual connection with the cathedral’s architectural past. Their repetition at a larger scale gives the expanded church a more monumental presence, while allowing the older entrance to remain identifiable.
Worship-Space Organisation and Circulation
The enlarged complex also introduced a more layered arrangement for accommodating worshippers. Reporting from Christmas 2024 described provision for approximately 700 people in the hall and another 500 in the basement, with arrivals directed downstairs when the hall reached capacity. These figures describe the arrangements reported during that construction period; they should not be treated as a verified final seating schedule.
This arrangement suggests that circulation became an important part of how the expanded cathedral operated. Arrival, distribution between worship areas, and movement between levels had to support a congregation extending beyond one room. The frontal photograph shows the retained central doorway and approaches to either side, but it cannot establish the complete internal routes. A detailed assessment of processional movement, accessibility, and connections between old and new spaces would require floor plans and site observation.
Understanding the Heritage Implications
The transformation also requires a distinction between architectural resemblance and the retention of historic fabric. In his 2024 archaeology thesis at Universitas Hasanuddin, Aditya Joseph Mesalayuk reported the replacement of significant building elements and identified a reduction in heritage value. His abstract also records positive responses among community respondents and notes that some new elements followed the earlier building’s character. These are findings from one academic study, rather than a comprehensive conservation verdict, but they are relevant to understanding the expansion.
For my preliminary historical study, the third form presents both continuity and substantial change. The cathedral maintains a recognisable entrance and familiar religious imagery while accommodating worship within a much larger complex. Understanding this relationship provides the context for subsequent acoustic and lighting design: identifying the spaces now in use, the historic features that remain, and the architectural qualities through which the congregation continues to recognise its cathedral.
Makassar Cathedral during its contemporary expansion, 2024. This panoramic photograph shows the historic central entrance tower against the broader new church composition and its flanking towers. Photo: Herwin Gunawan’s project documentation.
Reading the Three Architectural Layers
Makassar Cathedral’s architectural history can be understood through three principal forms: the early Neo-Gothic church, the enlargement associated with the late 1930s and early 1940s, and the contemporary expansion initiated by the 2018 decision. Each responded to community needs while changing the relationship between the worship space and its public appearance.
These phases provide a useful framework, but they do not represent three buildings that remained unchanged between major transformations. The parish history also records wartime damage in 1943, subsequent glazing repairs, a ceiling replacement in 1978, and a balcony enlargement in 1984. The cathedral’s development therefore includes smaller interventions within the three broader architectural layers.
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| Architectural phase | Community needs | Architectural character | Principal changes | Surviving features and continuity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First form: early church, generally dated 1898–1900 | Establishing a permanent place of worship for the developing Catholic community. | Early photographs show pointed openings, an ornamented entrance gable, small pinnacles, and a slender roof turret: a recognisable Neo-Gothic vocabulary. | Construction of the original church following the acquisition of the site. | Gothic-inspired forms recur in later phases. The surviving fabric attributable specifically to 1900 requires an element-by-element survey; resemblance alone cannot establish its age. |
| Second form: late-1930s enlargement, associated with 1939–1941 | Increasing capacity beyond approximately 200 seats and improving liturgical facilities. | A substantial entrance tower became the dominant feature, accompanied by a simpler silhouette and retained Gothic elements. “Art Deco” remains an unverified stylistic interpretation. | Alteration of side walls, enlargement of the sacristy, introduction of confessionals and side altars, and replacement of the separate iron bell tower with an integrated entrance tower. | The recognisable front tower and façade composition remain visible within the contemporary ensemble. This establishes continuity of form, rather than proof that every component is unchanged. |
| Third form: contemporary expansion, documented in 2024 | Accommodating a larger congregation and distributing worshippers across additional spaces. | The 2024 photograph shows a broader composition, prominent flanking towers, metal spires, and repeated pointed arches surrounding the historic frontage. | Substantial new construction behind the retained front section, with expanded worship accommodation and basement use. | The historic frontage remains a reference point. Much of the expanded architecture is new, including elements that echo earlier forms. |
Sources: the early chronology follows Yunani’s study; the first two forms are documented in museum photographs and parish history; the contemporary phase is supported by the project account, the parish priest’s 2024 interview, and the supplied photograph.
Distinguishing Evidence from Interpretation
Historical records and photographs answer different questions. The parish account documents why enlargement was necessary and identifies particular alterations. Dated photographs establish the building’s visible appearance at a given time. Descriptions such as “more monumental,” “stronger vertical emphasis,” or “visual continuity” are architectural interpretations of that evidence.
A similar distinction applies to surviving features. An old window relocated into a new wall, a repaired historic tower, and a newly constructed pointed arch each express a different relationship with the past. Their appearance may be related, but their material histories are not interchangeable. For this study, I therefore distinguish between retained fabric, altered historic elements, and new work that refers to earlier architecture.
This distinction is particularly relevant to the recent expansion. Aditya Joseph Mesalayuk’s 2024 archaeology thesis reports the replacement of significant elements and a resulting reduction in heritage value, while also recording positive community responses. Its findings indicate that continued religious use and visual familiarity can coexist with the loss of historic material.
Where Does the Cathedral’s Identity Reside?
My interpretation is that Makassar Cathedral’s identity emerges from its accumulated history. The first church established its early architectural expression; the second form reshaped the building for an expanding community; and the third introduced a larger setting for contemporary worship. Each contributes to how the cathedral is understood today.
That accumulated identity does not make every alteration equally significant or every loss replaceable. Surviving materials, workmanship, and liturgical objects provide evidence that photographs and stylistic references cannot fully substitute. A separate 2025 study by Pramesty Inriana Ritto identifies historically valuable architectural elements and liturgical artefacts, reinforcing the importance of documenting the cathedral beyond its external appearance.
In this preliminary study, the task is therefore to understand both the continuity of worship and the physical evidence of change. Reading these layers together provides a basis for recognising what remains significant—and for making subsequent acoustic and lighting decisions with a clearer understanding of the building they will serve.
Heritage Significance: What Should Guide Future Intervention?
Understanding Makassar Cathedral’s history establishes a basis for deciding what future interventions should protect. Its significance resides in several connected qualities: surviving architectural fabric, evidence of craftsmanship, the arrangement of spaces for worship, and the congregation’s continuing relationship with the building. The Nara Document on Authenticity offers a useful framework for this assessment, recognising that heritage value can be expressed through materials, design, use, traditions, setting, and the meanings associated with a place.
Architectural Features, Materials, and Craftsmanship
The retained entrance tower and frontage deserve particular attention because they allow the earlier cathedral to remain recognisable within the expanded complex. Their significance includes the relationship between the tower, entrance, adjoining gables, and approach from the forecourt. The parish priest’s 2024 account identifies the front section as the portion retained because of its heritage status.
A more detailed assessment should examine the surviving masonry and finishes, door frames, decorative mouldings, column capitals, glazing, bells, and liturgical objects. Pramesty Inriana Ritto’s 2025 research identifies architectural elements and older religious artefacts as important subjects for documentation. Its publicly accessible contents list includes the entrance doors, bells, capitals, stained glass, early bricks and floor tiles, and a baptismal vessel. These references provide a starting point for an inventory, although they do not establish the present condition or exact provenance of every item.
Material investigation should look beyond surface appearance. Brick dimensions, mortar composition, joinery, tool marks, metal fittings, inscriptions, and traces of earlier finishes may help explain how an element was made and subsequently altered. For design purposes, these details should be recorded before cleaning, repainting, covering, or attaching equipment to potentially significant surfaces.
Distinguishing Early Fabric from Later Layers
The cathedral’s history cautions against treating everything that appears old as part of the original church. The parish account records three donated bells in 1923, the construction of an integrated entrance tower during the late-1930s enlargement, damage to glazing behind the altar in 1943, and subsequent donations of coloured glass for the side windows. It also records a timber ceiling replacement in 1978 and a balcony enlargement in 1984. These later contributions belong to the cathedral’s history, but require their own dates and explanations.
The working record should therefore distinguish:
Early surviving fabric: elements attributable to the first construction through documentary and physical evidence.
Later historic additions or repairs: work associated with subsequent periods, assessed for its own significance.
Relocated or reused elements: historic objects or components retained within a changed setting.
Reconstructed or newly made elements: features recreated from evidence, or new designs drawing on earlier forms.
Elements of uncertain date: items requiring further investigation before attribution.
A new pointed arch may recall the earlier cathedral without being a reconstruction of a particular lost feature. Similarly, an old window installed in a new wall retains material history while its spatial context changes. Recording these distinctions makes the building’s evolution more understandable.
The Congregation’s Memories and Ritual Life
The cathedral is also a setting for lived religious experience. A heritage assessment should ask clergy, long-standing parishioners, musicians, sacristans, and other users which places, objects, and practices they associate most strongly with it. Baptisms, marriages, funerals, processions, communal singing, and private prayer provide useful subjects for these conversations. Their particular meaning at Makassar should be documented through testimony rather than assumed.
Community responses may also differ. Aditya Joseph Mesalayuk’s 2024 study reported positive responses to the expansion among its respondents while identifying losses of heritage significance. This finding suggests that appreciation of improved accommodation can coexist with concern for historic fabric. Neither perspective should be taken as a complete account of the congregation’s attachment to the cathedral.
Spatial relationships deserve similar attention: the sequence from forecourt to entrance, views towards the sanctuary, routes used during liturgy, and the relationship between communal worship and quieter devotional areas. Comparing earlier plans with present use would help establish which relationships survive and which have changed.
Priorities for Sensitive Design
These findings establish a practical sequence: document significance, identify vulnerabilities, and then develop interventions. This approach is consistent with the Burra Charter’s emphasis on understanding a place before changing it and limiting alteration to what is necessary to sustain its significance and use.
The resulting design priorities would be to retain and repair significant fabric where feasible; assess material compatibility before introducing new finishes; and place services where they cause the least disturbance to historic elements and important views. Removable installations should be preferred where practicable, with their actual effect on the substrate checked rather than assuming they are reversible.
For subsequent acoustic and lighting work, this means evaluating mounting locations, cable routes, treatment areas, and maintenance access alongside performance requirements. Mock-ups can help the church and design team assess visual impact before permanent installation. The historical study thus becomes a basis for specific decisions: improving the congregation’s experience while keeping the cathedral’s surviving evidence and accumulated meanings legible.
From Historical Understanding to Acoustic and Lighting Design
The historical study provides a starting point for the next design stage by identifying which architectural qualities require particular care and where further investigation is needed. At Makassar Cathedral, successive changes to the building’s walls, glazing, ceiling, and worship spaces mean that its present environment reflects several periods of construction. The parish record of replacement glazing and later ceiling and balcony alterations reinforces the need to examine each element individually before proposing interventions.
For acoustic design, the next step is to relate this understanding to the cathedral’s existing geometry and materials. Room volume, ceiling height, surface finishes, seating, and connections between spaces should be surveyed and represented in acoustic analysis. Measurements and modelling can then inform the balance between speech intelligibility and the resonance appropriate for singing. Historical photographs help explain earlier configurations, we then make acoustic modeling to understanding reverberation times on first and second architecture.
For interior lighting design, the historical study directs attention to daylight openings, stained glass, architectural proportions, and the relationship between the historic frontage and the expanded worship space. These elements help establish which architectural details and spatial relationships deserve particular care. Daylight should be observed at different times of day and under varying weather conditions to understand how it illuminates the interior, reveals materials, and influences views towards the sanctuary.
This understanding provides a basis for integrating electric lighting around the altar, ambo, crucifix, circulation routes, and the congregation’s reading needs. The lighting composition should support the visual hierarchy of worship while allowing the surrounding architecture to remain legible. Particular attention should be given to glare, the visibility of faces and texts, and transitions between brighter and quieter areas. Lighting scenes can accommodate different liturgical activities, with luminaires, wiring, and maintenance access coordinated to minimise disturbance to significant fabric. ChurchCare’s guidance similarly emphasises natural-light variation, the direction and quality of illumination, and testing within the actual building.
For façade lighting design, the investigation extends beyond the cathedral to the surrounding nighttime environment. Light from neighbouring buildings, streetlights, commercial signs, and passing vehicles should be assessed from the principal approaches and public viewpoints. Their brightness, colour, direction, and operating hours establish the context in which the cathedral is seen and help determine the illumination needed to make its architecture readable.
The historical study can then guide how light reveals the retained entrance tower, adjoining gables, pointed openings, and newer flanking towers. Their relative prominence should be considered carefully so that the historic frontage remains identifiable within the expanded composition. On-site lighting trials can assess the balance of light and shadow, the appearance of materials, and the visibility of fixtures. The aim is a coherent nighttime presence that respects the cathedral’s architectural layers while limiting glare, light spill towards neighbouring properties, and unnecessary upward light.
Equipment integration connects both disciplines to heritage care. Loudspeakers, luminaires, acoustic treatments, wiring, and controls should be coordinated with the significance and condition of their proposed locations. Mounting details require particular attention: an installation may be visually discreet yet still damage an important surface. Existing service routes and suitable newer construction should be assessed as opportunities to reduce disturbance, while maintaining access for inspection and replacement.
For my work, historical understanding therefore helps define the design brief alongside the congregation’s practical and liturgical needs. It guides what to investigate, what to protect, and how proposed changes should be evaluated.
Understanding the cathedral’s architectural evolution provides the foundation for improving its performance while respecting its identity.
References and Image Sources
The references below identify the published sources cited in this account. Repository links provide the accessible abstracts and supporting files for the academic studies.
Paroki Hati Yesus Yang Mahakudus—Katedral Makassar, “Gedung Gereja”. Parish building history.
Keuskupan Agung Makassar, “Gereja Lokal KAMS 75 Tahun” (2012). Historical context for the Catholic community.
Ahmad Yunani (2017), “Gereja Hati Yesus Yang maha Kudus–Katedral (sejarah Gereja Katolik di Sulawesi Selatan dan Tenggara)”. Jurnal Lektur Keagamaan, 15(1), 125–148. DOI: 10.31291/jlk.v15i1.518.
Irwani Rasyid and Adang Saujana (2019), Dokumentasi Teknik Bangunan Kolonial. Balai Pelestarian Cagar Budaya Sulawesi Selatan; section on Gereja Katedral.
Aditya Joseph Mesalayuk (2024), Evaluasi Pengembangan Bangunan Gereja Katedral Kota Makassar Serta Dampaknya Terhadap Nilai Penting Sebagai Cagar Budaya. Undergraduate thesis, Universitas Hasanuddin.
Pramesty Inriana Ritto (2025), Strategi Penguatan Informasi Nilai Penting Cagar Budaya Gereja Katedral Makassar dan Artefak Liturgisnya sebagai Upaya Pelestarian. Undergraduate thesis, Universitas Hasanuddin.
Katharina Reny Lestari, “Katedral Makassar Berhias Diri Sambut Misa Instalasi Mgr. Fransiskus Nipa”. HIDUPKATOLIK, 16 October 2024; interview with Father Yulius Malli.
Ihwan Gunawan S, “Gereja Katedral Makassar Bakal Tampung 1.200 Jemaat Tiap Sesi Misa Natal”. detikSulsel, 24 December 2024.
Direktorat Jenderal Bimbingan Masyarakat Katolik, “Menag Hadiri Dedikasi Gereja Katedral Makassar: Simbol Iman, Persaudaraan, dan Keabadian”. Ministry of Religious Affairs, 31 October 2025.
“Antisipasi Lonjakan Umat, Misa Malam Natal Katedral Dua Sesi”. Celebesmedia, 24 December 2025; interview with Father Yulius Malli.
The Nara Document on Authenticity (1994); The Burra Charter (Australia ICOMOS, 2013); and ChurchCare, “Lighting”. Guidance used to frame heritage assessment and sensitive design.
Historical photographs, Collectie Wereldmuseum (formerly Tropenmuseum), via Wikimedia Commons: frontal view, 1900–1920, TM-60008255; oblique view, 1900–1919, TM-10016679; and C.J. (Cees) Taillie’s 1948 photograph, TM-10029315. All three source records specify CC BY-SA 3.0.
Project context and the 2024 panoramic photograph: Herwin Gunawan’s project account and documentation. Architectural readings of the photographs are the author’s interpretations.
