DÍLI, Timor-Leste – On 15 September 2025, in the parish church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Canossian family of Timor-Leste gathered to celebrate with joy and gratitude the solemnity of Our Lady of Sorrows, Mother of the Greatest Love, a figure so dear to St Magdalene of Canossa. At the foot of the Cross, Mary is not only the model of fidelity and compassion, but is recognised by the Canossian Daughters of Charity as the true Foundress of the Institute, the Mother who guides and sustains every path of consecration.
This year’s celebration bore a particularly significant character: eight Sisters marked their twenty-fifth anniversary of religious profession. Sister Helena Branca Boavida, Sister Clara Rodrigues, Sister Merluia Soares, Sister Abelita Belo, Sister Estela Salsinha, Sister Odete Boquifai, Sister Elvira Ximenes and Sister Pascoela Natália Amaral renewed their “yes” with moving gratitude, before the community and ecclesial authorities. The Province of St Joseph, Timor-Leste, surrounded them in a single hymn of thanksgiving for the gift of their vocation and for the fidelity with which the Lord has sustained them throughout this quarter of a century.
During the homily, His Eminence Cardinal Virgílio do Carmo, Archbishop of Díli, recalled the figure of Our Lady of Sorrows as the example of a woman who remained faithful to God’s Love even in the most difficult of moments. He expressed heartfelt thanks to the jubilarians for their luminous witness, marked by joy, apostolic zeal, and compassionate closeness to those most in need.
Timor-Leste and the Canossian Mission
Timor-Leste is one of the youngest nations in the world, situated in the eastern part of the island of Timor, in the heart of South-East Asia. After a long and arduous journey towards full independence, it is today a country looking forward with hope, proud of its identity and its roots. The population is overwhelmingly Catholic, and faith here is not merely a religious tradition but an integral part of the daily life and culture of its people.
The Canossian Daughters of Charity have been present in Timor-Leste since 1988. Arriving at a time of great poverty and fragility, they began their mission with the education of girls and young people, convinced that education is the first instrument of liberation. Over the years their service has extended to catechesis, human and spiritual formation, health care, and the accompaniment of the poor. The Sisters learnt the local language, Tetum, and inserted themselves into the fabric of society by living alongside the people, sharing both their hardships and their dreams as a nation growing slowly yet steadfastly.
Today the Canossian presence in Díli and in other parts of Timor-Leste is firmly rooted. Alongside schools and educational centres there are houses of welcome, spaces of prayer, and communities that nurture new local vocations. The eight Sisters who celebrated their jubilee are the concrete proof that the seed planted years ago has borne fruit: vocations born of Timorese soil, who have made the charism of Magdalene of Canossa the very heart of their lives.
Loved and Called
Under the motto “Amadas e Chamadas” – “Loved and Called” – the jubilarians renewed their commitment to follow Christ with generosity, in a spirit of synodality, and with hope for the future. The Eucharistic celebration, animated by song and dance expressing the vibrancy of the Timorese people, became a true feast of faith, a mirror of the vitality of the Church in Timor-Leste and of the strength of Canossian spirituality.
The day concluded with embraces, smiles, and words of gratitude. The echo of this feast remains as a promise of new journeys: that the next twenty-five years may be as fruitful as the first, filled with blessings and graces for these Sisters and for the entire Canossian family in Timor-Leste.
