Pope Francis has begun his three day visit to Timor-Leste. On the first day today, the Pontiff was greeted by the crowd of tens of thousands of the residents of Capital, Dili, who lined the roads from the Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport through to the Nunciature, the beach side embassy of the Holy See in Dili, next to the Motael Church. The 6 KM long route was filled both sides by people from all walks of life.
The Pope’s first official engagement in the country was his State visit to the Presidential Palace where Francis was hosted by Timorese Head of State, Jose Ramos Horta. Along the road from the Nunciature to the Presidential Palace, and the return drive, thousands continued to line the route tried to get a good glimpse of the Pontiff and receive his blessing.
In the Comoro area, where Timorese traditional welcoming ornaments are on display on the street, the efforts of getting a sight of Pope Francis resulted in some of these ornaments being damaged, dropped or uprooted.
Many of these faithfuls are disappointed that they have not have a good glimpse of the Pope as they had anticipated.
51 year old Pascoela Hanjam told Neon Metin of her disappointment in not seeing the Pope properly as she had expected, lamenting “the driver of Pope’s car is driving too fast as if this is a war zone and consequently I could not see the Pope despite my best efforts to do so.” Angry and tearful Ms. Hanjam proclaimed “I am very disappointed.”
31 year old Orzon Hornay is also disappointed with the way Pope Francis has been driven through the streets of Dili today. “The Popse’s visit seems like it is only for the elites, only for those government and other State officials who had the chance of seeing him and getting close to him, while we the people on the street could not enjoy the same privilege due to the speed at which Pope Francis is driven,” Hornay told Neon Metin.
Nuno Rodrigues, one of the attendants, observed that “the Pope does not appear to be as relaxed and enjoyful as he was on the streets in Indonesia,” comparing the relaxed and “close-to-people” environment Pope Francis had enjoyed in Indonesia in the first three days of his visit to the Asia and Oceania region.
Many of the faithful who turned-up on the streets of Dili to greet the Pope brought with them their Catholic religious tools such as images of Virgin Mary, Cross of Christ and rosaries in the hope of these being blessed personally by Pope Francis. Many others brought along their young children who expected they could receive the Pope’s bless like those experienced by the children in Indonesia.
Many social media postings, particularly on Facebook condemned the speed of the vehicles driving Pope Francis in Dili today, with some even called for the driver to be replaced when Pope Francis going about his second day agenda tomorrow.
