DILI, 17 april 2024 (TATOLI) – The Catholic Church, together with the Papal Nuncio to Timor-Leste, Marco Sprizzi, and the government have begun the construction of a special altar in Tasitolu-Dili for the visit of Pope Francis, where His Holiness will hold an open-air mass for Timorese people.
Pope Francis’ visit to Timor-Leste is scheduled for september 9 to 11, where he will preside over a mass in Tasitolu, located in the western part of the country’s capital, Dili.
The construction of the Altar is part of the country’s preparation for the papal visit to the country, three decades after St. John Paul II’s visit in 1989. The altar is being built by Karya Timor and is expected to be completed in july 2024.
The Minister of State Administration, Tomás Cabral, who was appointed Vice-Coordinator responsible for the preparation for the Papal Visit, said that a total of 32 hectares in Tasitolu will also be prepared to accommodate hundreds of thousands of people who will come to the mass, presided over by the Holy Father.
At the launching ceremony of the construction of the altar, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Dili, President of the Timorese Episcopal Conference (CET – Portuguese acronym), and the General Coordinator of the Team of Timor-Leste’s Church for Papal visit, Cardinal Virgílio do Carmo da Silva said that the Catholic Church, together with the government, will make efforts to ensure maximum preparation for the Holy Father’s visit.
The budget for the construction of the altar comes from the US$12 million allocated by the government for the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis.
The visit of Pope Francis will be a historic event for the Timorese people, who ardently desire the presence of the Holy Father in this blessed land, where simple people live their faith in Jesus Christ.
Pope’s official visit to Timor-Leste had been planned since 2020, but it was not realized due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pope Francis will visit four countries in Asia, in early september, namely Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore.
According to Vatican News, Pope Francis is scheduled to depart Rome on september 2 and return on september 13.
“The Holy Father travels first to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, where he will land on september 3 and remain until september 6. Pope Francis will then fly east to visit Port Moresby, the capital of Papual New Guinea, and Vanimo on september 6-9. His next stop will be in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, on september 9-11. From there, the Pope will travel to Singapore for a 3-day visit on september 11-13,” reported Vatican News.
Journalist: Jose Belarmino de Sa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
