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East Timor turns out in force for mass with Pope Francis

Pope mass draws 600,000 in Catholic-majority East Timor

An estimated 600,000 people, nearly half of East Timor’s population packed a seaside park for Pope Francis’s mass [Willy Kurniawan/Pool/AP Photo]

Pope Francis has celebrated a mass for hundreds of thousands of faithful in East Timor, rallying nearly half the population of the world’s most Roman Catholic country outside the Vatican in stifling tropical heat.

Pilgrims clamoured to catch a glimpse of the 87-year-old pontiff who appeared in good spirits on Tuesday, greeting him with a rapturous reception in a wide coastal area of the capital Dili.

Approximately 600,000 people out of a population of 1.3 million attended the mass, the Vatican said in a statement, citing local authorities, in the biggest turnout for a papal event by population proportion outside the Holy See.

“I am so happy for everyone in East Timor. Now I want to see Papa Francisco here and give my present to Papa Francisco. I am so emotional,” said Mary Michaela, 17, who attended the service.

The mass was the main event of the third leg of Francis’s 12-day Asia Pacific tour, which has already taken in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, and will conclude in Singapore.

Francis used it to hail East Timor’s birthrate.

“How wonderful that here in Timor-Leste there are so many children. We can see every corner of your land teeming with life,” he said.

He then went off-script once the mass ended, turning to the country’s rising rate of crocodile attacks to seemingly make a point about imposing values on other nations.

“Be careful, because I was told that crocodiles are coming to some beaches,” he told the crowd.

“Be attentive to those crocodiles that want to change your culture, your history. And stay away from those crocodiles because they bite, and they bite a lot.”

As night fell, the elderly pontiff toured the crowd in his popemobile as the crowd shouted, “Viva Papa Francesco!”.

Many pilgrims had arrived hours before his address to get a prime spot, waiting in the heat.

They held white-and-yellow Vatican umbrellas to protect themselves from the glaring sun, while firefighters sprayed devotees with water.

Pope mass draws 600,000 in Catholic-majority East Timor

The remarkable turnout was a testament to the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Southeast Asian country and the esteem with which its people hold the church. [Firdia Lisnawati/AP Photo]

Pope mass draws 600,000 in Catholic-majority East Timor

Francis stayied at Tasitolu park until well after nightfall to loop around the field in his open-topped popemobile, with the screens of the crowd’s mobile phones lighting up the evening. [Dita Alangkara, Pool/AP Photo]

Pope mass draws 600,000 in Catholic-majority East Timor

“I wish for you peace, that you keep having many children, and that your smile continues to be your children,” Francis said in his native Spanish. [Willy Kurniawan/Pool/Reuters]

Pope mass draws 600,000 in Catholic-majority East Timor

Lourenca Lelan from the Becora parish in East Timor waits to free some doves during a votive mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary Queen presided by Pope Francis in Tasitolu, some eight kilometres (five miles) west of Dili, East Timor. [Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo]

Pope mass draws 600,000 in Catholic-majority East Timor

Other papal masses have drawn millions of people in more populous countries, such as the Philippines, and there were other nationalities represented at Tuesday’s mass. But the crowd in East Timor, population 1.3 million, was believed to represent the biggest turnout for a papal event ever, in terms of the proportion of the national population. [Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters]

Pope mass draws 600,000 in Catholic-majority East Timor

Catholic faithful react to released birds during the mass. [Yasuyoshi Chiba/Pool via Reuters]

Pope mass draws 600,000 in Catholic-majority East Timor

The Tasitolu park was a sea of yellow and white umbrellas — the colours of the Holy See flag — as Timorese shielded themselves from the afternoon sun awaiting Francis’ arrival. They got occasional spritzes of relief from water trucks that plied the field with hoses. [Firdia Lisnawati/AP Photo]

Pope mass draws 600,000 in Catholic-majority East Timor

The sheer number of people descending on Dili caused at least one local telecom company to inform customers their signal would be affected by the pope’s visit. [Dita Alangkara/Pool/AP Photo]

Pope mass draws 600,000 in Catholic-majority East Timor

Cathlic faithful wait for the arrival of Pope Francis in front of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Dili. [Valentino Dariell De Sousa/AFP]

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