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CV NEWS FEED // An estimated 600,000 people attended the Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in East Timor this week, according to a September 10 report from NBC News.
Pope Francis’ visit to East Timor is a part of the longest journey of his pontificate, as CatholicVote previously reported. The journey, which began on September 2, has also included stops in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
NBC News reported that in East Timor, 98% of East Timor’s 1.3 million-person population is Catholic. Nearly half of the population turned out for the historic Mass near the country’s capital of Dili.
Earlier on September 10, Pope Francis met with an estimated 50 children from the Irmãs Alma School, as well as sisters of the Association of Lay Ministries who run the school, according to Catholic World Report (CWR). Archbishop of Dili Cardinal Virgílio do Carmo da Silva was also present at the meeting.
CWR reported that Sister Getrudis Bidi, Superior of the religious community, told Pope Francis that the sisters serve children with mental and physical disabilities, as well as children who are disadvantaged and abandoned.
According to CWR, Pope Francis thanked the sisters for what they do. He also thanked the young people, “who give us the testimony of letting themselves be cared for. Because they teach us how we should let ourselves be cared for by God … they are our teachers.”
Pope Francis is set to depart from East Timor on September 11 and conclude his journey with a visit to Singapore.
