Marco Carvalho
A Requiem Mass in memory of Father Domingos Soares was held on Thursday, May 22nd at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady. The well-beloved Timorese priest, who ministered in Macau for almost a decade, passed away on May, 16th, at the Guido Valadares National Hospital, in Díli, following a long-term illness.
Widely known as “Father Maubere” for his significant contributions to East Timor’s struggle for self-determination and independence, Father Domingos Soares passed away earlier this month in his home country. A former post-graduation student at the University of Saint Joseph (USJ), the Timorese priest, who had previously undergone medical treatment in Malaysia, died from complications related to multiple illnesses, aged 73.
Domingos Soares, who headed the parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Becora, on the outskirts of Díli, was born in the village of Letefoho, in the Ermera district, on 12th May 1952. His death was mourned throughout East Timor, a country in which he was seen as much more than a priest. Ordained on 16th July 1978, in the Portuguese city of Braga, by Archbishop Eurico Dias Nogueira, Father Domingos Soares was instrumental in informing the international community about human rights abuses perpetrated by the Indonesian army in occupied-East Timor. Popularly known as “Amu Du”, Father Domingos Soares always raised his voice for justice and human dignity. This life-long stance earned him the Pax Christi International Peace Award in 1997. He shared the honor of this prize with Maria de Lourdes Cruz in recognition of their work on behalf of the less-advantaged communities in East Timor.
Father Soares’ closeness to the poor, and his defense of human dignity and social justice before and after the restoration of East Timor’s independence, earned him the respect and admiration of all Timorese: “He was a spiritual father to everyone. The Timorese saw him as a wise elder, someone you don’t often find in today’s world: an anointed man who worked not for himself, but for the country and for the people”, Agostinho Martins told “O Clarim”.
Following the re-establishment of East Timor’s independence, in 2002, Father Domingos Soares remained an outspoken critic of issues such as corruption, mismanagement and power harassment, violence against women and social inequality. In 2008, ‘Father Maubere’ left Dili to enroll in a Master’s degree in Christian Studies at the University of Saint Joseph. During his seven years in Macau, he engaged in pastoral work with the Portuguese-speaking Catholic community at the Cathedral Parish and helped to reactivate the Macau Rai Timor Group, which was founded by Father Francisco Fernandes in 1996. In February 2015, the then Bishop of Dili Monsignor Alberto Ricardo da Silva, called him back to East Timor to serve as a Vicar General of the Diocese of Díli, a position he held for just over a year.
His farewell to Macau was not to be final. With his PhD in Christian Studies yet to be concluded, Father Domingos Soares returned to the Special Administrative Region in 2016 to finish his postgraduate studies. He successfully completed the task in 2017, when he successfully defended his dissertation, entitled “The Diocese of Macau at the Dawn of the Diocese of Dili”. In July 2017, the priest said goodbye to the ‘City of the Name of God’ for the second time and returned to his home country. He maintained, however, a strong connection with Macau, as he continued to support Timorese seminarians studying at the University of Saint Joseph. After Timor’s independence, Father Domingos Soares played a key role in bringing young Timorese to Macau to study to become priest: “His death is a great loss for East Timor. I hope that the young people who came to Macau to study may upheld the spirit of solidarity for which Father Domingos was known. I hope they may work for the welfare of the Timorese people and commit themselves, under all circumstances, to contribute towards East Timor’s growth”, Agostinho Martins told “O Clarim”.
(Picture description: Fr Soares -seated, in 2022 at Sagrado Coração de Jesus church in Becora, Dili)
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