The Church de Santo António de Motael is the oldest Roman Catholic church in

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-w ...

and is located in

Dili Dili ( Portuguese/ Tetum: ''Díli'') is the capital, largest city of East Timor and the second largest city in Timor islands after Kupang (Indonesia). It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed i ...

, the country's capital city. It is dedicated to

Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua ( it, Antonio di Padova) or Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, António/Antônio de Lisboa; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. He was bo ...

(''Santo António de Lisboa'' in Portuguese). While the first church at this location was built around 1800, the current building dates back to 1955.

History

''Some of this section is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at :de:Santo António de Motael; see its history for attribution.'' During the Portuguese colonial era, the district of Motael was the centre of Portuguese life in Dili. A church was first built at the present location around the year 1800, on land gifted by the liurai of "Mota-a in". A reconstruction of the church was started around 1901. The completion date is unknown, but there are records of a completed church dating back to 1937. However, at that time the building did not have the bell tower and portico that it has today. The building was partially destroyed by Japanese air raids during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. It was rebuilt in 1955, and served as the de facto cathedral for the diocese of Dili until the inauguration of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in 1989. In 1975, in the turmoil of the withdrawal of the Portuguese from Timor, some

Fretilin The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor ( pt, Frente Revolucionária de Timor-Leste Independente, abbreviated as Fretilin) is a centre-left political party in East Timor. They presently hold 23 of 65 seats in the National Parliam ...

members decided to go occupy the church, perceiving it as an icon of colonialism. However, just before they reached the building, their leader fell from the truck and broke his clavicle. The group interpreted this event as a divine intervention, and aborted the operation. The church played an important role in the independence struggle. On 27 October 1991, young independence activists tried to demonstrate against the Indonesian occupation. While the Indonesian security forces ran after them, pastor

Alberto Ricardo da Silva Alberto Ricardo da Silva (4 April 1943 – 2 April 2015) was the Roman Catholic bishop of Dili, East Timor. Early life He was born in Aileu, in East Timor when it was still a Portuguese colony. He studied in the minor seminary of Dili and was ...

offered them protection in the church. At night, the Indonesians stormed the church and shot activist Sebastião Gomes, who then bled to death. On 12 November 1991, after the memorial service for Gomes, a demonstration started in front of the church and led to the

Santa Cruz massacre The Santa Cruz massacre (also known as the Dili massacre) was the murder of at least 250 East Timorese pro-independence demonstrators in the Santa Cruz cemetery in the capital, Dili, on 12 November 1991, during the Indonesian occupation of Ea ...

, in which at least 271 people were killed by Indonesian security forces. During the

2006 East Timorese crisis The 2006 East Timorese crisis began as a conflict between elements of the military of East Timor over discrimination within the military and expanded to a coup attempt and general violence throughout the country, centred in the capital Dili. Th ...

, as many as 500 people took refuge in the church.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Motael Church Catholic Church in East Timor Roman Catholic churches in East Timor Buildings and structures in Dili Roman Catholic churches completed in 1955 1955 establishments in the Portuguese Empire 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings