Timor-Leste, Asia's youngest country with a majority of Catholics, has already begun preparing for Pope Francis' visit this year, though the Vatican has not yet released the dates.
A delegation of the Vatican that traveled to East Timor in the last week of January to study details about the planned visit of the Holy Father was "very impressed by the professionalism of the responsible government entities," East Timorese president José Manuel Ramos-Horta said on a social media post, quoting sources from the Holy See on February 12.
The Vatican ambassador to Timor-Leste stressed the Timorese government's "excellent preparation" for a "possible" Pope visit, stressing the need for a "fair balance" with Francis' health.
According to the Lusa News Agency in Portugal, "The Pope has expectations and joy in preparing this visit," confirmed the Vatican ambassador in Timor-Leste, Monsenor Marco Sprizzi.
He said on February 12 that the Timorese government is making "excellent preparations" for the "possible" visit of Pope Francis to the country, which is scheduled to take place in August.
"A possible visit by the Holy Father to Timor is in preparation. We can't confirm the date yet; it will be announced by the Holy See together with the government, but it is no secret that we are preparing for this possible visit,” Sprizzi stated.
He spoke to journalists after a meeting with Timorese President José Ramos-Horta at the Presidential Palace in Dili.
Sprizzi reported that a Vatican delegation spent three days in the country inspecting the locations where Pope Francis is expected to visit and holding meetings with Timorese authorities.
“The Timorese government is making excellent preparations. We are grateful for the enormous, competent, and efficient work that is being done for the Pope's eventual visit to Timor-Leste,” he stressed.
The ambassador outlined that Pope Francis' visit to Timor-Leste primarily revolves around concerns regarding security, health, transport, and venues for the Holy Father's interactions with the people.
"The other concerns are consequent so that everything is well organized so that the Pope can have the right balance of activities and rest so that he can recover, so that he may have the physical and intellectual strength to give his best to the people. No other worries. The Pope has expectations and joy in preparing this visit,” he said.
The Vatican ambassador announced that Pope Francis will deliver a "gospel message" to East Timor a few days before the Holy Father's visit, addressing the situations concerning the Timorese people and the sub-region.
Pope John Paul II visited Timor-Leste in 1989.
Pope Francis will be the second pope to visit the country.
Timor-Leste, a Portuguese colony since the sixteenth century, proclaimed its independence on November 28, 1975, the day the Portuguese left.
However, on July 17 of the following year, Indonesia, a neighboring country, attacked and seized it.
Following a 1999 UN-backed referendum, Timor-Leste achieved independence on May 20, 2002, after a 24-year, frequently violent resistance effort.
Of the 1.4 million people living in Timor-Leste, 97% identify as Catholics. The country has three dioceses: Dili, Baucau and Maliana.
About 42% of people live below the national poverty threshold, according to UNDP.
Besides East Timor, Pope Francis is likely to visit at the end of August other countries in Asia—Indonesia, Singapore, and Papua New Guinea. And possibly Viet Nam as well.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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