East Timor turns out in force for Mass with Pope Francis

DILI (Reuters) – An estimated 600,000 people in East Timor, just under half its population, turned out in the baking heat on Tuesday for a Mass with Pope Francis at a coastal park synonymous with the country’s long struggle for independence from Indonesia.

Filling a wide, dusty area where Indonesian forces were known to have buried slain Timorese independence fighters, people arrived as early as 1 a.m. and sat on the ground, many braving the sun for hours in temperatures as high as 32 degrees Celsius (90°F).

Many people sheltered under umbrellas decorated in the white and yellow colours of the Vatican flag, while others sang local melodies, carried signs asking for blessings and shouted in joy as Francis arrived.

Rev. Pedro Amaral, one of hundreds of priests celebrating the Mass, said he came with 800 of his parishioners from Zumalai, a village about 140 km (85 miles) away.

“I am so happy because we never thought we would see the pope,” said the priest.

School teacher Jamie Belo, 60, said he left home 12 hours before the Mass to secure a spot to see the pope.

Former Portuguese colony East Timor is a half-island nation of 1.3 million people north of Australia and one of only two predominantly Catholic counties in Asia.

The Vatican estimated 600,000 had gathered for the early part of Tuesday’s Mass, in one of the largest ever turnouts as a proportion of a country’s population for a Mass during a papal visit.

Many in the crowd on the outskirts of Dili, the capital, appeared young, with mothers and fathers holding babies or keeping children around their legs.

‘TEEMING WITH LIFE’

East Timor, or Timor-Leste, lost at least 102,800 people in the 1975-99 conflict with Indonesia, according to the U.N. It now has a median age of 20, according to official estimates.

“How wonderful that here in Timor-Leste there are so many children!” Francis said during his homily for the Mass, looking out over the crowd.

“Indeed, you are a young country, and we can see every corner of your land teeming with life.”

The pope’s stop in East Timor is part of an ambitious 12-day, four-country tour across Southeast Asia and Oceania, his longest yet.

It is likely the most Catholic country in the world, with the Vatican saying about 96% of Timorese are adherents to the faith.

Francis is the first pope to visit East Timor in 35 years, following John Paul II, whose appearance gave the country’s independence movement an historic boost.

Like Francis, John Paul also celebrated Mass at the Tasitolu, now a protected area and “Peace Park” that overlooks the waters of the island’s northern coast.

John Paul’s Mass, held during the occupation, ended with a small chair-throwing melee between anti-government demonstrators and police officers. The late pope was unharmed.

Francis’ visit, held during the 25th anniversary of the vote for independence, at times resembled something more like an enormous party.

Crowds gathered for kilometres in the streets around Dili throughout Tuesday to follow the pope’s events, which also included a meeting with Catholic bishops at the cathedral and a visit with disabled children at a local Catholic school.

The 87-year-old pontiff, using a wheelchair due to knee and back pain, was often rolled near the rope lines outside his events.

People gathered around him, touched his hands, kissed his silver papal ring, or offered a tais, a traditional woven scarf, for him to wear. Dancers in feathered headdresses also played small drums.

The Mass, the largest papal event since Francis’ visit to Portugal last year for the Catholic Church’s World Youth Day festival, featured readings in Portuguese, Tetum, and five other local languages.

Francis is visiting East Timor until Wednesday as part of a tour that also included stops in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. He travels next to Singapore, before returning to Rome on Sept. 13.

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee and Willy Kurniawan; Editing by Martin Petty)