TASITOLU, East Timor (AP) — Pope Francis' final Mass in East Timor drew an estimated crowd of 600,000 people, representing nearly half of the country's population. This turnout is believed to be the largest in terms of the proportion of the population for a papal event. East Timor, with a population that is 97% Catholic, has a deep-rooted Catholic tradition dating back to the early 1500s when Portuguese explorers first arrived.
The historic gathering took place at a seaside park where St. John Paul II had prayed in 1989 during the nation's struggle for independence from Indonesia. While crowd counts from such events are often provided by local organizers and may be subject to overestimation, the enthusiasm of the East Timorese people for the visit of the pontiff was evident.
