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.
East Timor’s authorities declared a public holiday early last week so that the Timorese population could welcome the nation’s first Catholic cardinal in a festive atmosphere. Dom Virgílio do Carmo da Silva – one of the new cardinals created by Pope Francis on August 27th – celebrated a Thanksgiving Mass which was attended by thousands of people. Agostinho Martins, an East Timorese living in Macau, says the name ‘Dom Virgílio do Carmo’ has become synonymous with hope.
Ramos Horta became an international celebrity mostly because he won the Nobel Peace prize in 1996 jointly with Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo.