1989, and the room he stayed in overnight still received pilgrims decades after. Sikka was heavily impacted by the 1992 Flores earthquake and tsunami, especially its northern coastal regions and outlying islands. Out of around 2,500 dead in the disaster, 1,490 were from Maumere and another 700 were from Sikka's Babi Island.

The diocese of Maumere, which is coterminous with Sikka Regency,