Some 700,000 people gathered to celebrate Mass with Pope Francis on his last stop in East Timor. That’s nearly half of the country’s population. Hundreds of singers made up the choir.
During his homily, the Holy Father applauded the culture of youth in East Timor. It’s one of the youngest countries in the world, with a median age of just 20 years old.
“This reality is beautiful in Timor-Leste, because there are so many children,” Pope Francis said. “You are a young country where life can be felt pulsating and buzzing in every corner… And the presence of so many young people and so many children is a gift, it is an immense gift.”
Earlier in the day, the Pope was welcomed by children with disabilities, who are taken care of by the nuns of the Alma Congregation. He thanked the sisters for what they do and also thanked the children.
“Because they teach us how we should let ourselves be cared for by God,” Pope Francis said.
After that meeting, the Pope went to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, where he met with bishops, priests, religious, and lay people committed to the work of evangelization in the country.
The Holy Father told them, we need to be a missionary Church, one that goes out of its comfort zone to evangelize.
“In the Gospel, the boundaries are the center,” Pope Francis said. “And a Church that has no capacity for boundaries and hides in the center is a very sick Church.”
Pope Francis heads to Singapore on Wednesday, Sept. 11, where he’s set to meet with members of the Society of Jesus, the president and prime minister, and host an inter-religious meeting with young people.