Cardinal recalls 500th anniversary of East Timor’s evangelization

August 18, 2015

A day after the signing of a diplomatic accord between the Holy See and Timor-Leste (East Timor), the Vatican’s Secretary of State was the principal celebrant at a Mass commemorating the 500th anniversary of the area’s evangelization.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, acting at the Pope’s legate for the occasion, celebrated the Mass on August 15 in Tasitolu, near the nation’s capital of Dili. In his homily, the Secretary of State compared the people’s joyful reception of the Gospel to St. John the Baptist’s joy in the womb of his mother when he encountered Christ during the Visitation.

East Timor was a Portuguese colony until 1974, and Indonesia, with the support of the United States, invaded and annexed East Timor the following year. Following decades of struggle, Timor-Leste became an independent nation in 2002.

Recalling the long struggle for independence from Indonesia, Cardinal Parolin said, “I know the great sacrifice that was made at that time, a sacrifice that can be explained because of your faith, which in this long period of time has given a special identity as a people.”

The nation of 1.2 million is 96% Catholic, according to Vatican statistics.

 

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Further information:

• L’importanza di saper festeggiare ((L’Osservatore Romano, p. 2)
• East Timor signs diplomatic accord with Holy See (CWN, 8/14)
• Lettera del Santo Padre al Legato Pontificio per la celebrazione del V centenario dell’evangelizzazione della Repubblica Democratica del Timor Orientale (Holy See Press Office)