DILI, 30 october, 2021 (TATOLI)- The metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baucau, Basilio Do Nascimento died from a heart attack and Cardiovascular disease at the age of 71.
Archbishop Nascimento was transferred from Suai to Hospital on october 30 at around 10:46 am and was confirmed died this afternoon (30/10) around midnight Timor-Leste hour.
Deacon Claudino Mendonca Maia said Archbishop Nascimento had been in delicate health for several years and could not be brought to treatment due to the pandemic
“Last night Archbishop Nascimento was suddenly heart attack and was brought to the hospital in Dili for the past hours, unfortunately, was confirmed died this morning,” He explained.
body of Archbishop Nascimento will keep in Dili Cathedral and The funeral ceremony will be commenced on Thursday (4/11) at around 10 am at St. Anthony Cathedral Baucau.
Bishop Baucau Parish Basílio do Nascimento Martins was born 14 June 1950 and he is the East Timorese Roman Catholic bishop of Baucau.
He had completed turning 71 years old last June 14, 2021.
He was born in Suai, then Portuguese Timor. He later moved to Portugal, where he was ordained priest in Évora, in 1977. He worked for 20 years in Portugal and France before returning home in 1994, which was at the time under Indonesian occupation.
He became apostolic administrator of the new Diocese of Baucau on 30 November 1996 and titular bishop on 6 January 1997. When Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo retired, Nascimento became apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Dili, until the new bishop of Dili, Alberto Ricardo da Silva, was introduced on 6 March 2004. Nascimento then became bishop of Baucau.
In October 1999, the President of the National Council of Timorese Resistance Xanana Gusmão thanked Bishop Nascimento for the support of the Church in the struggle for independence.
Concerned that the names of the thousands of lives lost during Indonesia’s occupation of the country will be forgotten in the name of reconciliation with Indonesia, on 21 January 2006 he said that reconciliation with Jakarta without justice is meaningless.
On March 31, 2018, Nascimento collapsed during Mass at St. Anthony’s Cathedral in Baucau and was rushed to Dili National Hospital. He recovered and was discharged on 4 April 2018. He is the head of the East Timor bishop’s conference.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Nelia Borges Rosario
