Pope Francis’ Mass in East Timor draws 600,000 people, nearly half the population

An estimated 600,000 people — nearly half of East Timor’s population — packed a seaside park Tuesday for Pope Francis’ final Mass, held on the same field where St. John Paul II prayed 35 years ago during the nation’s fight for independence from Indonesia.

Other papal Masses have drawn millions of people from more populous countries, such as the Philippines, and other nationalities were represented at Tuesday's Mass.

But the crowd in East Timor, population 1.3 million, was believed to represent the biggest turnout for a papal event ever, in terms of the proportion of the national population.