About Timor-Leste (East Timor):
Timor-Leste (formally known as The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste), is in Southeast Asia. Australia is the country’s southern neighbour, separated by the Timor Sea.
East Timor came under Portuguese influence in the sixteenth century, remaining a Portuguese colony until 1975. Internal conflict preceded a unilateral declaration of independence and an Indonesian invasion and annexation. Resistance continued throughout Indonesian rule and in 1999, a United Nations–sponsored act of self-determination led to Indonesia relinquishing control of the territory.
Shortly after obtaining independence from Portugal in 1975 (the Portuguese, along with Catholicism, came to the island of Timor in 1515), the country was invaded by nearby Indonesia. Ensuing decades of violence and deprivation killed as much as one-third of the East Timorese population, according to some estimates.
In a 1999 election supervised by the United Nations, the vast majority of East Timorese voted for independence from Indonesia. In the ensuing weeks, however, anti-independence militias unleashed a wave of retaliation that killed about 1,400 people, forced 250,000 more to flee, and devastated the area’s already underdeveloped infrastructure.
Timor-Leste, which today has a population of about 1.2 million, became the first new nation of our current millennium upon obtaining its independence on May 20, 2002. Though there have been some threats to national security–such as an unsuccessful coup attempt in 2008–the country has not reverted to widespread carnage. Also informally called East Timor, Timor-Leste comes from Portuguese and Tetum, the two official languages. “Leste” means “east” in Portuguese. The name “East Timor” was also used during the period when the territory was under Indonesian rule as part of Indonesia’s province of East Timor. The western half of the island of Timor is administered by Indonesia.
On May 20, 2002, as Timor-Leste, it became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century. That same year, relations with Indonesia were established and normalized, with Indonesia also supporting East Timor’s accession into ASEAN. It is a developing tourist destination due to its rugged natural beauty, including mountains, pristine reefs, and diverse wildlife, along with a rich cultural heritage .
The country’s size is 5,770 square miles and comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island’s north-western half, and the minor islands of Atauro and Jaco.
The country remains relatively poor, with an economy that relies heavily on natural resources, especially oil, and foreign aid. Illiteracy is a major problem in Timor-Leste; in fact, barely one-third of the population has ever read a newspaper. East Timor’s high rates of illiteracy have proven difficult to remedy, since many older people didn’t ever go to school and worked as subsistence farmers–a job for which literacy was not needed. Additionally, the disruption of the school system during years of widespread turmoil meant that many people never received even a primary education. Meanwhile, many others only started primary school in their mid-teens and didn’t move on to high school.
The total population is over 1.34 million in the 2022 census, and is heavily skewed towards young people due to a high fertility rate. Education has led to increasing literacy rate over the past half-century, especially in the two official languages of Portuguese and Tetum. High ethnic and linguistic diversity is reflected by the 30 indigenous languages spoken in the country.
The Catholic Church in Timor-Leste (East Timor):
Timor-Leste has three dioceses: Dili, established in 1940; Baucau, established in 1996; and Maliana, established in 2010. About 220 priests serve in these three dioceses. According to a 2015 America magazine article, Timor-Leste had 574 seminarians, which is a very large number for its population. In fact, about 400 young men are turned away each year from the seminary because there are not enough spots for them. In 2017 UCA News reported on the establishment of a new seminary in Timor-Leste meant to accommodate the sizable numbers of young men who seek to become priests.
The Carmelites operate educational programs and provide emergency food and flood relief in Timor-Leste. The order also provides university scholarships and facilitates small-scale business operations (typically agricultural).
Masses in Timor-Leste are typically delivered in either Portuguese or Tetun (an indigenous Austronesian language). These are the official languages of Timor-Leste, where English and Indonesian are considered “working languages.”
Though no East Timorese Catholics have been designated as “Venerable” or “Servants of God,” the nation’s most-admired Catholic is Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, the former bishop of Dili (and a co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize), who served during the years of Indonesian occupation and is much-esteemed for his steadfast advocacy on behalf of Timorese rights during that era.
Pope Francis visited East Timor on September 9-11, 2024, marking his first trip to the deeply Catholic country.
Pope Franccis liked to visit the Church at its peripheries, meaning he emphasized the importance of reaching out to those who are often marginalized or excluded from mainstream society. He viewed this as a way to bring the Gospel to every corner of the earth and support fragile churches.
He arrived in Dili, the capital, on September 9 and was greeted by enthusiastic crowds. The Pope’s visit included a large-scale open-air Mass at Tasitolu (a coastal park where Indonesian forces previously buried Timorese independence fighters) attracting an estimated 600,000 people.
Catholic places of interest in Timor-Leste (East Timor):
The majority of the population is Catholic, and so there are many Catholic places of interest here.
Dili:
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception: This cathedral served as the meeting place for Pope Francis with bishops, priests, and other religious figures during his visit in September 2024, says a report by America Magazine.
Church of Santo António de Motael Known as the oldest Roman Catholic church in East Timor, it holds historical significance.
Baucau:
St. Anthony Cathedral Located in the second-largest city in East Timor.
Maliana:
Sacred Heart Cathedral This cathedral is situated in the Diocese of Maliana, one of the three dioceses in East Timor.
Meti-Aut Dili: Cristo Rei Statue This iconic statue of Christ the King is a major landmark and symbol of faith in Dili.
Ramelau Mountain:
Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary: at an altitude of 9,721 feet, this statue is white alabaster, made in Italy and was erected on the summit in 1997.