DILI, 22 April 2025 (TATOLI) – Timor-Leste’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Bendito Freitas, will represent the Government of Timor-Leste at the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican City, Vice Prime Minister, Minister Coordinator for Social Affairs and Minister of Rural Development and Community Housing, Mariano Assanami Sabino has said.
Minister Freitas will join the President of the Republic, José Ramos-Horta, and the Cardinal of Timor-Leste, Dom Virgílio do Carmo da Silva, SDB, to attend the funeral of His Holiness.
The date of the funeral and burial of the late Pope Francis has not yet been announced, but the ceremony will follow centuries-old tradition, including a public viewing that will allow mourners from around the world to pay their respects.
Assanami said that the Government of Timor-Leste, in close collaboration with the Catholic Church, will organize an open-air memorial mass for Pope Francis in Tasi-Tolu at the time of his funeral.
His Holiness Pope Francis passed away in the Vatican on Monday, April 21st, 2025, at 7:35 a.m. (Rome time), at the age of 88.
The cause of Pope Francis’ death has been identified as a stroke, followed by a coma and irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse, according to the official medical report released by the Director of the Directorate of Health and Hygiene of the Vatican City State, Dr. Andrea Arcangeli.
Pope Francis, the Latin American pontiff, known for his humble style and concern for the poor, was the second pope to visit Timor-Leste—after St. John Paul II, who travelled to the country on 12 October 1989 during the Indonesian occupation. He was the first pontiff to visit the country since it gained independence from Indonesia in 2002.
During his three-day stay in the country from September 9 to 11, 2024, Pope Francis met with some of the country’s national and religious leaders, visited vulnerable groups, and spoke to massive crowds of the faithful in Dili. The Pope left a message of hope, unity, and commitment to peace, emphasizing the importance of youth and the protection of the cultural and spiritual values of the Timorese people.
Journalist: Camilio de Sousa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
