The Immaculate Conception Cathedral is the main church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dili in Timor-Leste. Planning began in 1984, and the Indonesian government provided about 235,000 U.S. dollars for the construction. It was consecrated on November 2, 1988 and inaugurated by Indonesian President Soeharto, and Pope John Paul II blessed it in October 1989. Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo attended the inauguration.
It stands on a plot of 10,000 square meters and measures 1,800 square meters. It holds about 2,000 people and was reportedly the largest cathedral in Southeast Asia at its inauguration. Before it was built, the Church of San Antonio de Motael served as Dili's pro-cathedral.
The cathedral played a part in the country's independence struggle. It hosted a welcome for a statue of Our Lady of Fatima in 2002, and a Mass in 2007 urging an end to violence and a push for reconciliation.
Comments