Seminary of Our Lady of Fatima

Last updated

Seminary of Our Lady of Fatima
Seminario Menor de Nossa Senhora de Fatima, 2023 (01).jpg
TypeMinor seminary
Established1936;88 years ago (1936)
Religious affiliation
Rector Father Angelo Salsinha
Students254 (2017) [1]
Location
Dili
,
East Timor

8°33′54″S125°35′04″E / 8.565003°S 125.584444°E / -8.565003; 125.584444
Campus Balide  [ de ] (Santa Cruz)
Language Portuguese
Notable alumni Nicolau dos Reis Lobato
Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo
Xanana Gusmão
Jose Ramos Horta

The Minor Seminary of Our Lady of Fatima is a Roman Catholic seminary, located in Dare, Dili, East Timor. Established in 1936, it is the oldest Roman Catholic seminary in East Timor. The seminary was initially established in Manatutu district, south of Dili. In 1951 it was moved to Dare. In 1954 the Vatican canonically registered the seminary. It was taken over by the Jesuits in 1958, [2] and moved to the outskirts of Dili in 1978.

Contents

History

The seminary, which while at Dare sat on the top ridge of the mountains surrounding Dili, was for generations East Timor's most important educational institute where almost every East Timorese leader was educated. [3]

On 13 December 1975, a few days after the start of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor, the seminary building in Dare was bombed. In 1978, Father José Martins and Father João Felgueiras reopened the seminary in Externato de S. José, a building on the outskirts of Dili. [4]

In 1983 the St. Joseph's High School became a separate institution from the minor seminary. Among the students of the high school are approximately 50 seminarians.

The seminary was the only place where East Timorese could be educated beyond secondary school level, and its alumni include a roll call of leaders including Nicolau dos Reis Lobato and Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo. [5] Xanana Gusmão spent four years at the seminary. [6] Most of the Fretilin guerillas were educated at the seminary, including Jose Ramos Horta. [7]

Until independence the medium of instruction was Indonesian. [5]

In July 2000 the seminary was the venue for the marriage of East Timor President Xanana Gusmão and Kirsty Sword. [8] In 2001 the seminary had about 30 Timorese candidates for the diocesan priesthood. [9] In 2017 the seminary had 254 students. [10] On 1 March 2007 the country's new apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, celebrated Mass at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Dili, before visiting the seminary. [11]

Father Lopes Mouzinho is the rector of the seminary in 2007. The grounds of the seminary are still a sanctuary for thousands of refugees. It has become one of Dili's many Internally Displaced Persons Camps. [12]

Current operations

By 2010, being the country's only minor seminary, it was struggling to accommodate the growing number of candidates desiring to enter the priesthood. This led to the plan to build a second minor seminary. In 2017, the Maliana Diocese became home to the St. Joseph Seminary, Maliana, the country's second minor seminary. [13]

In 2016, Father Angelo Salsinha was rector of the seminary. [14] Speaking at the seminary on 8 March 2016, Msgr. Ionut Paul Strejac, the Vatican's chargé d'affaires in Timor-Leste, spoke to about 400 Timor-Leste youth mostly university and high school students in Dili Diocese about reconciliation, conflict and violence. [15]

Milestones

The alumni of the seminary, including President Xanana Gusmão, Bishop Alberto Ricardo da Silva of Dili and Bishop Basilio do Nascimento of Baucau, and others met at the seminary on 30 October 2004 to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Jesuit Father Leonardus Dibyawiyata who was the rector of the seminary from 1996 to 1999 also spoke on the occasion. The seminary has produced about 40 priests, including three bishops. Hundreds of politicians and professionals also are graduates of the seminary. [2]

In 2010 the Church in East Timor celebrated the 75th anniversary of the opening of the seminary, where 75 seminarians were preparing for the priesthood. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xanana Gusmão</span> 3rd president and 5th prime minister of East Timor

José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão is an East Timorese politician. He has served as the 6th prime minister of East Timor since 2023, previously serving in that position from 2007 to 2015. A former rebel, he also served as East Timor's first president since its re-establishment of independence, from 2002 to 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of East Timor</span> Political system of East Timor

The political system in East Timor is a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of East Timor is the head of government and the President of East Timor functions as head of state. East Timor has a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the president and the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The East Timorese constitution was modelled on that of Portugal, with lesser power given to the president. The country is still in the process of building its administration and governmental institutions. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated East Timor a "flawed democracy" in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francisco Xavier do Amaral</span> East Timorese politician (1937–2012)

Francisco Xavier do Amaral was an East Timorese politician. A founder of the Frente Revolucionária de Timor Leste Independente (Fretilin), Amaral was sworn in as the first President of East Timor when the country, then a Portuguese colony, made a unilateral declaration of independence on 28 November 1975. He was a member of the National Parliament for the Timorese Social Democratic Association from 2001 until his death in 2012. Amaral was also known as "Abo (Grandfather) Xavier", a term of endearment, by East Timorese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Joseph's High School, East Timor</span> Private secondary school in Dili, East Timor

St Joseph's High School is a private Catholic secondary school, located in Dili, Timor Leste. The school was founded by the Catholic Diocese of Díli in 1983–84, when East Timor was still part of Indonesia. In 1993 the school was entrusted to the Society of Jesus, with a ten-year commitment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirsty Sword Gusmão</span>

Kirsty Sword Gusmão, is an Australian-East Timorese activist who served as the First Lady of East Timor from 2002 until 2007. She is married to Xanana Gusmão, former prime minister and president of East Timor, though they separated in 2015. She is the founding director of the Alola Foundation, which seeks to improve the lives of women in Timor-Leste, a nation with one of the world's lowest per capita GDPs.

Lieutenant Gastão Salsinha was the de facto leader of the East Timor rebel movement following the death of former leader Major Alfredo Reinado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Díli</span> Roman Catholic archdiocese in East Timor

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Díli is an archdiocese located in the city of Díli in Timor-Leste.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Baucau</span> Roman Catholic diocese in East Timor

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baucau is a diocese located in the city of Baucau in Timor-Leste.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Maliana</span> Roman Catholic diocese in East Timor

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Maliana is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in East Timor and a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Díli. The diocese includes the administrative region of Maliana in districts of Liquica, Bobonaro, and Cova–Lima and 16 sub-districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basílio do Nascimento</span> Roman Catholic bishop of Baucau, East Timor (1950–2021)

Basílio do Nascimento Martins was the East Timorese Roman Catholic Bishop of Baucau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norberto do Amaral</span> Roman Catholic bishop of Maliana, East Timor (born 1956)

Norberto do Amaral is the Roman Catholic Bishop of Maliana, East Timor. He was appointed on 30 January 2010. Previously, he served as an assistant pastor and as a pastor, as Rector of the Diocesan Minor Seminary in the Diocese of Díli, and in other offices in the Catholic Church in East Timor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberto Ricardo da Silva</span>

Alberto Ricardo da Silva was the Roman Catholic bishop of Dili, East Timor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Dili</span> Church in Díli, East Timor

The Immaculate Conception Metropolitan Cathedral in Dili is the main church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dili, East Timor.

The Seminary of SS Peter and Paul is a Roman Catholic Seminary in Dili, East Timor. It is the country’s only Major Seminary named after the Saints Peter and Paul. It is located in Fatumeta.

The following lists events that happened during 2008 in East Timor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgílio do Carmo da Silva</span> East Timorese Catholic cardinal (born 1967)

Virgílio do Carmo da Silva SDB is an East Timorese Roman Catholic prelate who was appointed Bishop of Dili on 30 January 2016. He became an archbishop when the diocese was elevated in 2019.

St. Joseph Seminary, Maliana, in Maliana Diocese, East Timor, is the country's second Catholic minor seminary.

<i>Ágio</i> Pereira East Timorese politician

Hermenegildo Augusto "Ágio" Cabral Pereira Alves is an East Timorese politician, and a member of the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">António da Conceição</span> East Timorese politician

António da Conceição, also known by his nom de guerreKalohan (transl. "Cloud"), is an East Timorese politician, and a member of the Democratic Party (PD). He has held several Ministries in the government, and as of 2021 was a Member of the National Parliament.

References

  1. ↑ Herald Malaysia October 24, 2017
  2. 1 2 Tas Seminar UCANews 9 November 2004 [ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ Asiaweek 1999
  4. ↑ "Morreu o padre jesuíta José Martins, que viveu em Timor-Leste desde 1974" [Jesuit priest José Martins, who lived in Timor-Leste from 1974, has died]. Diário de Notícias (in European Portuguese). DN/Lusa. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  5. 1 2 Christalis, Irena. East Timor: A nation’s bitter dawn. Zed Books, London, 2009
  6. ↑ "Profile: Xanana Gusmao". BBC News. 9 May 2007. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Radio National 26/05/99". Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  8. ↑ Gusmão, K. S. A woman of independence. Pan 2003.
  9. ↑ AD2000 December 2001 Archived 15 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ UCANews 23 October 2017
  11. ↑ CathNews 2 March 2007 Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ "ABC 22 October 2007". Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Archived from the original on 14 September 2009. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  13. ↑ UCANews 29 September 2017
  14. ↑ UCANews 11 February 2016
  15. ↑ UCANews 9 March 2016
  16. ↑ Agenzia Fides 2/7/2008 Archived 13 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Seminário Menor de Nossa Senhora de Fátima at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.