Pope Francis celebrated Mass on Tuesday at the Taci Tolu esplanade in Dili, on the second day of his visit to East Timor, attended by 600,000 faithful, half of the country’s 1.3 million inhabitants.
Authorities said there were an estimated 600,000 people on the esplanade and in the surrounding areas, one of the most crowded events of Francis’ pontificate in proportion to the number of inhabitants.
Since Monday, the inhabitants of Dili and Timorese from all over the country have gathered in this natural space where Saint John Paul II also celebrated a mass in 1989, when East Timor was still a province invaded by Indonesia and which put the demands for independence in the spotlight of the world.
Historic moment and mass
It was a mass attended by 60,000 people and there was tension in the air due to the historic moment. A pro-independence banner was even unfurled about thirty metres from the altar and protesters were arrested while shouting “Long live the Pope” and “Long live Independence”.
A totally festive and euphoric atmosphere today, 35 years later, in this place where guerrillas were buried in mass graves and where independence was proclaimed after 25 years of war and the 1999 referendum.
The Pope was greeted by a sea of yellow and white umbrellas, the colours of the Vatican, donated by the organisers to protect him from the excessive heat.
The Pope was greeted by a sea of yellow and white umbrellas, the colours of the Vatican, donated by the organisers to protect him from the excessive heat.
Not only residents of the capital but also people from all over the country came to Taci Tolu, as did some pilgrims from Indonesia, nearby West Timor and Australia, most of them wearing commemorative T-shirts of the trip, which were also distributed by the organisation and could be seen throughout the city for what has become one of the great events in the history of the young nation.
The Pope was greeted with traditional dances upon his arrival and greeted some of those present before the mass, while due to the heat it was decided to travel around the esplanade in the popemobile to greet the faithful only after the ceremony.
In the homily, in Spanish and translated into Tetum, Francis spoke of the joy of the birth of a child and said that in East Timor “it is wonderful what happens when a baby is born” and that here in this country “there are many children” and it is “a young country where in every corner life is felt to pulsate and bustle.”
“The presence of so many young people and so many children is an immense gift, in fact, it constantly renews the freshness, energy, joy and enthusiasm of its people,” he added.
He explained that “making room for the little ones, welcoming them, caring for them, and making ourselves small before God and before our brothers and sisters, are precisely the attitudes that open us to the action of the Lord.”
A call for the protection of minors, when a few years ago the scandal of abuse committed by the bishop, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1996, Carlos Ximenez Belo, broke out. The Vatican announced in 2022 that it sanctioned the prelate after accusations of child abuse during the 1990s, with some restrictions on movement, contact with minors and forced him into exile in Portugal, but for part of the country he is still considered a national hero.
The Pope continued his homily by asking the faithful of one of the poorest countries in the world: “Dear brothers and sisters, let us not be afraid of making ourselves small before God and before one another; of losing our lives, of giving our time (…) to welcome others.”
The Pope will end his visit to East Timor on Tuesday with a meeting with young people before flying to Singapore, the last leg of his tour of Asia and Oceania.
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