Ebid Lone, a Claretian seminarian in East Timor, is enthusiastic about the Pontiff’s visit to the country: “It will be a blessing, a precious moment in which I will be able to see Francis directly, face to face: until now I have only seen him on television.” .
East Timor is the third country of the four that make up Pope Francis’ Apostolic Journey to Asia and Oceania along with Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Singapore, on the longest journey of the Pontificate.
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In statements given to the Pontifical Mission Societies in Spain, the young man affirms that “when it was announced that the Pope would visit this country, everyone was filled with joy.”
Originally from Indonesia, Lone is grateful “for all the things that the missionaries have given me, especially the Claretians” and confesses that being a priest was his childhood dream: “When I went to Mass with my parents in Indonesia I was impressed ”, he details.
About to be ordained a deacon, his 11-year training was made possible thanks to a Spanish Claretian missionary, as his family is of humble origins. Now, he is willing to go “wherever the congregation and the Church need, because I am a missionary.”
At the moment he is working in East Timor, a small country with less than 350 priests in which about 1,000 nuns also evangelize. T he Catholic Church is present through 66 parishes, 51 social entities such as hospitals and homes for the elderly and disabled, as well as more than 300 schools where thousands of students are trained.
Divided into three dioceses (Dili, Baucau and Maliana), the mission in East Timor has been supported by OMP in the last five years with nearly one and a half million dollars, especially to support the expenses of the three diocesan seminaries that have with 617 future priests.
In addition, from what is collected in the Domund, the three dioceses receive a fixed aid of $25,000 for ordinary expenses, as detailed by OMP Spain.
Nicholas de Cardenas
Born in 1980, I am a Spanish husband and father and journalist with more than 20 years of experience in print and digital media, specializing in sociopolitical and religious information. I have worked for more than 10 years in defense of human rights and have accreditations in Journalism and Comprehensive Communication. Since July 2022, I have been a correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN Noticias in Spain, covering international events of the Catholic Church.