On September 10, 2024, on the huge Taci Tolu esplanade in Dili, East Timor, Pope Francis celebrated Mass for some 600,000 people, almost half the population of the country. In this nation where 97% of the people are Catholic, the Pope praised God's humility.
Many of the faithful had arrived the day before to take up spots on the large esplanade, a huge dirt field located on the western outskirts of the capital, Dili, between the coastline and a lake protected by a nature reserve. John Paul II celebrated Mass in this same place back in 1989, when East Timor was still occupied by Indonesia. It was a significant choice, then and now, as many Timorese were massacred there.
Thirty-five years later, “the fruits of that visit have born," said Sister Maria, a 52-year-old nun in charge of one of the many chapel-tents set up on the esplanade to allow times of Eucharistic adoration and to store consecrated hosts. She said that she decided to become a nun after going to see Pope John Paul II .
A chapel has since been built at the entrance of the esplanade, modeled on the uma lulik, a traditional place of worship in East Timor, recognizable by its construction on stilts and pointed roof. On Tuesday, tens of thousands of Timorese passed by this emblematic monument to the country's history to come and see Pope Francis.
Catholics in the trees to catch a glimpse of the Pope
The faithful were spread out over 26 huge zones marked out by the organizers, in front of a large platform covered by a white canopy.
Under a blazing sun and with the heat amplified by the humidity, waves of worshippers came to fill the vast grounds, stocked with provisions to withstand the long hours of waiting. The impression of a human tide was heightened by the use of thousands of umbrellas in the colors of the Vatican, white and gold.
Lacking space, many Timorese took over the surrounding grounds, even though their perches offered no view of the altar or the few giant screens. From trees, car roofs, and truck trailers, clusters of faithful climbed up to catch a glimpse of the Argentine Pontiff emerging from the crowd.
Pope Francis arrived directly at the altar to the joyous chants of the choir, widely echoed by the crowd and set to the rhythm of traditional instruments. As usual, the 87-year-old Pontiff left another prelate, this time Cardinal Virgílio do Carmo da Silva, Archbishop of Dili, to recite the Eucharistic prayer at the altar.
A young country with an explosion of life
In his homily, which he delivered in Spanish, Pope Francis praised the country's youthfulness.
“In East Timor it is beautiful, because there are so many children: You are a young country where in every corner you can feel pulsating, exploding life,” he said. “And this is a gift, a great gift: The presence of so much youth and so many children, in fact, constantly renews our energy and our life.”
Speaking off the cuff at the end of the Mass, the Pope again insisted on this theme. “A people who teach children to smile is a people who have a future,” he said.
But then, he called on a natural danger of the area to warn against the work of evil:
“But be careful! Because they told me that on some beaches crocodiles come; crocodiles come swimming and have a stronger bite than we can keep at bay. Be careful! Be careful of those crocodiles who want to change your culture, who want to change your history. Stay faithful. And don't go near those crocodiles because they bite, and they bite hard.”
This is not the first time during his journey across Asia and Oceania that the Pope has stressed the importance of demographic vitality. In Indonesia, in addressing the country's authorities, he strayed from his prepared text to criticize Malthusian policies aimed at limiting births. He highlighted Indonesia, where families have “three, four, and five children," as an “example for all countries,” contrasting it with families who prefer “to have a cat or a small dog, and not a child.”
Praising smallness
“In every place, the birth of a child is a bright moment, a time of joy and celebration, and sometimes it also arouses good desires in us, to renew ourselves in goodness, to return to purity and simplicity,” the Pope said in his homily, commenting on the words of the prophet Isaiah (9:5): ”For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.”
“God shines his saving light through the gift of a child,” he continued. “In front of a newborn, even the hardest heart warms up and is filled with tenderness. The fragility of a child always carries a message so strong that it touches even the most hardened souls, bringing with it movements and resolutions of harmony and serenity.”
Praising smallness, the Pope encouraged Timorese Catholics:
“Let us not be afraid to make ourselves small before God, and before each other, let us not be afraid to lose our lives, to give our time, to revise our schedules and downsize when necessary even our plans, not to diminish them, but to make them even more beautiful through the gift of spending ourselves and welcoming others.”
A final meeting in East Timor before heading for Singapore
Thanking the Pope at the end of the Mass for his visit to East Timor, Cardinal Virgílio do Carmo da Silva said the day marked “a decisive step in the process of building the country, its identity and its culture,” now 35 years after John Paul II's visit, which he said had been a “determining step in our process of self-determination.”
As night fell, after the popemobile did a tour of the vast esplanade, the Pope returned to the Nunciature, where he has been staying since arriving in East Timor on Monday.
Tomorrow, at 9:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. Rome time), the Pope will visit a group of young Timorese and give a final speech, before heading to Dili airport for a farewell ceremony at 10:45 a.m. and take-off at 11:15 a.m.
The plane, chartered by Aero Dili, will fly 2,640 km (1,640 miles): a four-hour flight bringing the Holy Father to Singapore's Changi International Airport at 2;15 p.m. local time (8:15 a.m. Rome time). Singapore will be the last stop on the Pope's 12-day, four-country tour.
