Crowds flock to Pope Francis’ seaside mass in East Timor

Pope Francis arrives at the ‘Irmas ALMA’ (Sisters of the Association of Lay Missionaries) School for Children with Disabilities in Dili, East Timor, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. Picture: AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia

Tens of thousands of people in East Timor streamed to a seaside park for Pope Francis’ big mass on Tuesday, held on the same field where John Paul II celebrated a historic liturgy during the nation’s fight for independence from Indonesia.

The Tacitolu Park is said to have been a site where Indonesian troops disposed of bodies killed during their rule. Now it is known as the Park of Peace and features a larger-than-life-sized statue of John Paul to commemorate his 1989 visit, when the Polish pontiff shamed Indonesia for its human rights abuses and encouraged the overwhelmingly Catholic Timorese faithful.