DILI, East Timor – Pope Francis arrived to a rock star welcome Monday in East Timor, where he will rally the Catholic-majority nation’s faithful with a huge mass expected to attract more than half the country’s 1.3 million population.
Catholic devotees have clamored to see Francis as he headed to Asia’s youngest nation — making pilgrimages from faraway towns and hours-long crossings of its border with Indonesia.
Tens of thousands lined the streets of capital Dili, waving Vatican-colored flags and umbrellas while screaming as the 87-year-old was driven through the streets flanked by security.
He appeared in good spirits after landing from Papua New Guinea for the third stop of a grueling 12-day Asia-Pacific tour, waving and smiling to a swarm of devotees trying to catch a glimpse of him.
“This will be a proud moment for me and my family, I think also for all the people of Timor-Leste,” said a waiting 42-year-old Nunsia Karmen Maya.
The pontiff was gifted a traditional scarf after arriving to an honor guard and greetings by President Jose Ramos-Horta at Dili’s airport, which has been closed to civilian flights for three days.
He will address East Timor officials and diplomats later Monday but the trip’s highlight will be the colossal mass on Tuesday, which is expected to draw 700,000 worshippers.
In the small seaside city sandwiched between mountains and the turquoise waters of the Ombai Strait, celebrations over the three-day visit were already in full swing.
The city has had an expensive makeover before the visit and authorities have relocated poor street-dwellers, including vendors in areas where Francis will travel, prompting criticism on social media.
Rights groups say some makeshift homes built by the poor were demolished in preparation for the mass. The government says they were erected illegally.
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao swept the streets with locals to help clean up the city before the pontiff’s arrival.
East Timor has a complex history marked by centuries-long Portuguese rule, decades of occupation by neighbouring Indonesia, and a United Nations-backed referendum that allowed it to break free.
Francis is the first pope to visit the country, where about 98 percent of its 1.3 million people are Catholics, since its independence more than two decades ago.
The country became formally independent in 2002, emerging from a brutal Indonesian occupation that left more than 200,000 Timorese dead.
Among its problems, East Timor suffers corruption, gender-based violence, domestic abuse of persons with disabilities, and child labor.
But the most sensitive issue facing the pontiff is child abuse cases linked to the clergy in recent years.
Advocacy groups have called for Francis to speak out on the issue, but his official schedule currently includes no events with victims.
Cases include Nobel-winning Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, who the Vatican secretly punished over allegations he sexually abused young children for decades.
Locals said they want the pope to bring a message of harmony — as he did in Indonesia last week.
“I hope that through this visit Papa Francisco will bring a message of peace,” said Francisco Amaral da Silva, a 58-year-old lecturer.
Francis’ schedule includes meetings with Jesuits, children and the Catholic faithful.
It is not only Timorese from around the country who will join the huge mass, to be held in a wide wetland area known as Tasitolu.
A local immigration office in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province predicted many people would cross the border for the visit.
East Timor is one of the world’s poorest countries, heavily reliant on oil and gas revenues that experts say could be depleted within years.
Despite that, the government is rolling out the red carpet for Francis.
It has allocated $12 million for the visit, including $1 million for the mass altar alone — which stood beside a large crucifix.
With around 42 percent of East Timor’s population living below the poverty line, Francis is likely to touch on economic and social issues.
Others were using his visit to sell pope merchandise.
Teacher Silverio Tilman, 58, set up a stall selling pope T-shirts, raking in more than $600 in two days — double the average monthly salary.
“We prepare these items, in case the pilgrims need them to attend the holy mass. We are not seeking big profits,” he said.
