Pope Francis is heading to Singapore for the final leg of his Asian trip. Francis ended his visit to East Timor with a rally Wednesday morning of young people, who make up the majority of the country's 1.3 million population.
Pope Francis is welcomed as he arrives at the Centro de Convenções in Díli, East Timor , Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, for a meeting with young people. The Vatican says some 600,000 people have attended Pope Francis ’ Mass in East Timor , or nearly half the country’s population, on Tuesday on the same field where St. John Paul II prayed in 1989 during the nation’s fight for independence from Indonesia.
The joyous encounter came just hours after some 600,000 people — or nearly half the population — packed a seaside park for Francis’ Mass. It was held on the same field where St. John Paul II prayed 35 years ago, when East Timor was under brutally oppressive Indonesian rule.Malaysian naval attack ship sinks after hitting unknown object
It was an apparent reference both to East Timor’s past, as a colonial possession of first Portugal and then Indonesia, but also its current attractiveness to international commercial interests eager to develop its natural gas reserves. The huge turnout in East Timor was a testament to the devout Catholic faith of its people and their reverence of the church, which strongly backed the Timorese’ fight for independence. Francis praised the Timorese for having not only built up their country from scratch, but reconciled with Indonesia after securing independence in 2002.
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