On 2 February 2016 the SCMM tree produced a new shoot. On that day Timor Leste obtained a different status: community under the responsibility of the general council. Sisters from our congregation have been working in Timor Leste for over 25 years. It is to the advantage of the co-operation with the diocese, for sisters to be able to work independently from Indonesia.
The General Council has appointed a coordinator after consultation with all the sisters. The coordinator is the chairperson of the coordination team and also a member of the ICB.
The General Council purposely decided to give Timor Leste the status of ‘community under the responsibility of the general council’. Timor Leste is a very promising new part of the congregation with a local identity.
The sisters live in Dili en Ossu. The formation house is located In Dili. There, young sisters will be educated to become a sister. At this moment, the Timor Leste community exists of nine professed sisters, fifteen sisters with temporarily vows, three novices and five postulants.
The Congregation is active on several fields of attention: health, education and social work. You meet the sisters in the parish, they contribute the food aid program, they manage a dormitory for orphanage boys and girls, a kindergarten and a clinic.
Since 2002 Timor Leste has been independent after 20 years of Indonesian rule. Before that time, it was a Portuguese colony. Timor Leste now has its own government and currency and has decided to use Portuguese as the official language.