Pope Francis’ Mass in East Timor draws 600,000 people, nearly half the population

By HELENA ALVES, NICOLE WINFIELD and NINIEK KARMINI
Associated Press

TASITOLU, East Timor (AP) — An estimated 600,000 people — nearly half of East Timor’s population —- packed a seaside park Tuesday for Pope Francis’ final Mass, held on the same field where St. John Paul II prayed 35 years ago during the nation’s fight for independence from Indonesia.

The remarkable turnout was a testament to the overwhelmingly Catholic Southeast Asian country and the esteem with which its people hold the church, which stood by the Timorese in their traumatic battle for freedom and helped draw international attention to their plight.

Francis delighted them on Tuesday, staying at Tasitolu park until well after nightfall to loop around the field in his open-topped popemobile, with the screens of the crowd's cellphones lighting up the evening.

“I wish for you peace, that you keep having many children, and that your smile continues to be your children,” Francis said in his native Spanish.

Other papal Masses have drawn millions of people in more populous countries, such as the Philippines, and there were other nationalities represented at Tuesday's Mass. But the crowd in East Timor, population 1.3 million, was believed to represent the biggest turnout for a papal event ever, in terms of the proportion of the national population.

The Tasitolu park was a sea of yellow and white umbrellas — the colors of the Holy See flag — as Timorese shielded themselves from the afternoon sun awaiting Francis’ arrival. They got occasional spritzes of relief from water trucks that plied the field with hoses.

“We are very happy that the pope came to Timor because it gives a blessing to our land and our people,” said Dirce Maria Teresa Freitas, 44, who arrived at the field at 9 a.m. from Baucau, more than seven hours early.

Tasitolu is said to have been a site where Indonesian troops disposed of bodies killed during their 24-year rule of East Timor. As many as 200,000 people were killed over a quarter-century. Now it is known as the “Park of Peace” and features a larger-than-life-sized statue of John Paul to commemorate his Oct. 12, 1989 Mass, when the Polish pope shamed Indonesia for its human rights abuses and encouraged the overwhelmingly Catholic Timorese faithful.

Francis was following in John Paul's footsteps during his visit to cheer on the nation two decades after it became independent in 2002. East Timor, known also as Timor-Leste, remains one of the poorest countries, with some 42% living below the poverty line, according to the U.N. Development Program.

But the Timorese are deeply faithful — some 97% are Catholic ever since Portuguese explorers first arrived in the early 1500s.