Pedro de Souza, 63, and his wife Zelia Soares, 63, show scarves they had when attending Masses led by Pope John Paul II in 1989 and Pope Francis in September last year, during an interview at their home in Dili, East Timor, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Yuddy Cahya Budiman
DILI, East Timor (Reuters) - A devout Roman Catholic couple in East Timor has seen firsthand two popes visit their tiny Asian country and now they are praying they may witness another, once a successor is picked to replace Pope Francis.
"I deeply hope the new pope would visit East Timor," Pedro de Souza, 63, told Reuters at his home in the Timorese capital Dili, sitting next to his wife of 40 years.
He wore a scarf he donned to attend Mass during a visit by John Paul II in 1989. His wife wore the scarf she had on for Mass when Pope Francis visited last year, a service attended by just under half the country's population.
More than 97% of East Timor's 1.3 million people are Roman Catholics, one of the largest Catholic majorities in the world. Along with the Philippines, it is also one of only two predominantly Christian countries in Asia, and among the remotest outposts of the global 1.4 billion Catholic community.
The former Portuguese colony, one of the poorest countries in the world, announced seven days of mourning after Francis died on Monday.
The Church played an important part in putting a spotlight on East Timor's 27-year bloody struggle for independence from Muslim-majority Indonesia, which ended with independence in 2002.
"With the visit of John Paul II, the world came to know about East Timor, because till that time East Timor was so closed. That moment we had the chance to speak to foreign media,” de Souza said.
De Souza said many Timorese lost their connection with religion after winning sovereignty and he believes Francis' visit helped rekindle their faith.
De Souza said he hopes the new pontiff will be conservative and will continue to help the country strengthen its faith and unify it in the face of a number of challenges.
One of the cardinals taking part in the conclave to elect a new pope - not expected to start before May 6 - will be East Timor's own Virgilio do Carmo da Silva, 57, who flew to the Vatican on Tuesday.
"Who will be the new pope is up to God, but as a Timorese of course I hope it will be Cardinal da Silva," da Souza said.
(Writing by Gibran Peshimam; Editing by Frances Kerry)
