Close to 1000 members of the Victoria’s Timor-Leste community gathered yesterday for a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Virgilio do Carmo da Silva. Source: Melbourne Catholic.
Families travelled from as far as Warrnambool and Colac to attend the celebration in the western Melbourne suburb of Altona and meet Timor-Leste’s first Cardinal-Archbishop.
It marks the first visit to Melbourne for the cardinal, who was created a cardinal in 2022.
On Sunday, seats filled up fast in the school hall of Mount St Joseph Girls’ College, with the event beginning with Mass followed by a cultural presentation and lunch.
This year marks the 50th anniversary since the arrival of the first wave of Timorese in Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there are more than 5000 people living in Victoria who are originally from Timor-Leste.
The first group that arrived in 1975 consisted mainly of refugees fleeing Timor-Leste after Indonesia invaded the country and violence ensued. The second wave arrived in 1986 as part of family reunification efforts and the most recent group of migrants arrived post-independence and consists mainly of seasonal workers and students.
“The cardinal’s visit has galvanised all three [groups] together to come and receive him,” Jose Pirez, a committee member of the Timorese Association of Victoria, said.
“It has helped galvanise our community, with people here from right across Melbourne … we are strong and united in two things, two pillars that hold our community and that hold each and every one of us: our culture and our faith.
Cardinal da Silva expressed his gratitude to the parish and school community for hosting the Timorese community, and to Catholic Mission who helped make his visit to Melbourne possible.
In his homily, the Cardinal likened the experience of migration with taking up the gospel call to be missionary.
‘A great challenge for the mission today is that people don’t want to leave their comfort zones,” Cardinal da Silva said.
“They choose to stay in their own groups, fearful and reluctant to share with others … Jesus calls these people to leave their comfort and preach, give their lives and time, and share what they have with others who are in dire need of their presence and help.”
FULL STORY
Cardinal of Timor-Leste visits Melbourne (Melbourne Catholic)
