A Search for the Meaning of Life
Fr. Albertus Magnus Herwanta, O. Carm is a Carmelite priest. He was born on November 19, 1958. His father and mother were elementary school headmasters. He has five brothers and one sister.
After graduating from junior high school in 1973, he attended Saint Peter Canisius Minor Seminary and graduated in 1979. Before attending the major seminary, Albertus considered becoming a Trappist monk or a diocesan priest.
However, after much discernment, he decided to join the Carmelite Order, which, in his opinion, stood between those two choices. Albertus chooses an Order that combines prayer and service.
He was ordained in 1987 and then was assigned as a teacher at Saint Albert of Trapani High School in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. After three years of teaching, he pursued a Master's degree in education in the United States of America and graduated from The Catholic University, D.C., in 1993.
From 1994 to 2007, Abertus was assigned to different Carmelite High Schools in Indonesia. From 1994 to 1997, he taught at Saint Paul High School in Jember, after which he was appointed headmaster.
In 2002, Albertus was transferred to Saint Albert of Trapani High School as a headmaster, where he carried his duty until 2007.
From 2007 to 2013, Albertus worked at the Carmelite International Office in Rome, Italy, assisting Father Prior General as the General Councillor for Asia-Australia-Oceania. He was also appointed as chairman of the Justice and Peace Commission.
Upon returning to Indonesia, Albertus was asked to be the president of Widya Karya Catholic University. He finished his duty in 2020. In December 2020, Albertus arrived in Hong Kong, starting a new mission.
When he is asked about his life journey, he says: "I find that it has been a search for the meaning of life. I am very grateful that God has called me to Carmel, which facilitates my search for the meaning of life. Carmel has called me to climb Mount Carmel and reach its top, Jesus Christ." (*)