An estimated 600,000 Catholics attended Pope Francis’ Mass on 10 September in East Timor, a small island country that is 98% Catholic.
The pope celebrated the youthfulness of East Timor at the massive outdoor Mass where the crowd appeared like a sea of yellow-and-white Vatican-themed umbrellas used for protection from the island’s scorching midday sun.
“I have been thinking a lot about what is the best thing about Timor …The best thing is its people. …The best thing about this place is the smiles of the children,” Pope Francis said in off-the-cuff remarks in Spanish at the end of the Mass. I wish for you peace, that you keep having many children, and that your smile continues to be your children,” the pope told the Timorese.
East Timor is one of the world’s most Catholic countries, with 98% of its 1.3 million people identifying as Catholic. The country gained independence in 2002 after a long struggle with Indonesia, during which the Catholic Church played an important role advocating human rights. The local govern-ment declared the three days of the pope’s visit as a national holiday in which nearly all of the streets and local businesses were closed with people flocking to the Esplanade of Taci Tolu in the capital city of Dili to take part in the papal Mass.
“In East Timor it is beautiful, because there are many children: You are a young country where in every corner you can feel life pulsating and exploding. 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,” Pope Francis said. “But even more it is a sign, because making space for children, for the little ones, welcoming them, taking care of them, and making ourselves small before God and each other, are precisely the attitudes that open us to action of the Lord.”