Pope Francis Leaves East Timor: "I’ll never forget your smiles"

In East Timor, the pontiff visited a home for disabled children, spoke to Catholic clergy and religious, met local authorities, and celebrated Mass for 600,000 Catholics.

At 98% Catholic, East Timor is the most Catholic country in the world. The nation is young both in years of independent statehood and in population: Two decades after obtaining independence in 2002, the average birth rate was four children per woman.

Pope Francis’ meeting with Timorese youth included members of the Timor Leste National Catholic Youth Commission.

The commission’s executive president, Don Francisco Indra do Nascimento, described it as having a single mission: “To help the young become good Catholics and good citizens.”

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He thanked the pope for always having the young at heart and said his presence among them that morning “represents a gift of faith, hope, and love, and encourages us to fight for life so that it may become a paradise, full of respect, charity, fraternity, friendship, and mutual love, of tangible actions for the homeland and for the beloved Church in particular.”

Four young adults — three Christians and one Muslim — briefly addressed Pope Francis, expressing their concerns for the problems of violence, littering, and lack of care for the environment, social media use among young people, and faith formation in the family. 

After listening to their testimonies and the performance of a traditional song and dance, the pope engaged those present in a back-and-forth, asking: “What do young people do?”

“Proclaim Christ,” one girl answered. Another person said “Proclaim the word of God,” and another said “Love one another.” A third young man said: “We must cultivate peace in our country.”

“Very good, very good,” Francis responded, adding that there is “one thing” that is common to youth from around the world: “Young people make noise, young people make confusion.”

“The young should make confusion to show the life they have,” he added.

Pope Francis also encouraged the young adults to never lose their faith or fall for the lies of those who say happiness can be found in worldly things such as drugs and alcohol.

“In this smiling country, you have a wonderful history of heroism, of faith, of martyrdom, and, above all, of forgiveness and reconciliation,” he noted. “I ask you a question: Who is the person, in the whole story, who was able to forgive and willing to reconcile?”

“Jesus!” the crowd of young adults responded.

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“Jesus! Jesus our brother who loves us all, right?” the pope affirmed as he urged those present to have commitment and to cultivate freedom and fraternity in their country.

“I will never forget your smiles! Never stop smiling!” the pontiff said. “You young people are the majority of the population of this land, and your presence fills this land with life, fills it with hope, and fills it with future. Do not lose your enthusiasm for the faith.”

Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.