Seven Jesuit leaders from Timor-Leste visited Australia in August as part of a growing strategic partnership between the Australian Jesuit Province and the Jesuit Region of Timor-Leste. Through Jesuit Mission Australia, generous Australians have supported Jesuit works in Timor-Leste for over two decades, greatly helping local partners and communities transform their education, healthcare, water and sanitation, and social services.
In both Melbourne and Sydney, the Jesuits from Timor-Leste personally thanked Jesuit Mission Australia supporters for over 20 years of partnership that has transformed education and social services in their young nation.
The visit included special gatherings with Q&A sessions led by Jesuit Mission Australia CEO Helen Forde, where supporters heard first-hand accounts of remarkable outcomes from education and community development projects funded by Australian Catholics.
Rural students achieving 100 per cent national exam success
Father Hyoe Murayama SJ, Director of the Jesuit-run secondary school NOSSEF (Escola Secundaria Católica Nossa Senhora de Fátima) in rural Railaco, Timor-Leste, shared extraordinary results that demonstrate the power of Catholic solidarity in action.
“On behalf of our school, I express our deepest gratitude for your generous support of over 20 years to our mission. Every year, 100 per cent of our year 12 students pass the national exam and we have had over 1,800 graduates since 2002,” Fr Hyoe told supporters.
NOSSEF Railaco serves remote rural communities where access to quality secondary education was previously non-existent, giving young Timorese their first pathway to university and professional careers. Fr Hyoe expressly thanked St Canice’s, the Jesuit parish in Sydney, for their sustained partnership and investments in education, healthcare, and nutrition in Railaco for more than two decades.
From classrooms without walls to 800+ students
Fr Calisto Seco Colo SJ, Director of Colégio de Santo Inácio de Loiola (Loyola Secondary School), described the dramatic transformation of Jesuit education in the capital.
“Our school began in 2013 with 78 students, three classrooms, no windows, and no doors. Now we have a beautifully constructed campus with 822 students… about 67 per cent of them are girls. From the bottom of our hearts – thank you for your support,” Fr Calisto said.
University education creating local leaders
Fr Isaias Caldas SJ, Rector of Instituto São João de Brito (ISJB), the Jesuit-founded and run teacher training institute, reflected on meeting Australians whose generosity makes higher education possible for Timorese students.
“It is quite overwhelming, the sensation that I’m feeling, to see people like you who have been behind the scenes supporting our missions. Seeing you, eyes to eyes, gives me more meaning to what I’m doing due to your generosity,” Fr Isaias said.
Since its inception in 2016, over 300 graduates from ISJB are already serving as teachers and community leaders throughout Timor-Leste.
Clean water and sanitation reaching thousands
While education remains the cornerstone of the partnership, the Jesuit commitment to serving the whole person extends to addressing basic human needs. Fr Julio Sousa SJ, Director of Jesuit Social Service, spoke of transformation at the grassroots:
“We have gradually given people from rural areas new opportunities, given them hope, given them life…. [Since 2018, over 1,900] families now have access to clean water and 50 families have newly built sanitation facilities; however, the success of a project should be measured by how many people’s lives we have touched,” Fr Julio said.
These infrastructure projects address critical health needs in rural communities where preventable diseases remain major challenges.
Jesuit Mission CEO Helen Forde emphasised that this partnership embodies the Ignatian principle of accompaniment – walking alongside the poor and marginalised as companions in their journey toward dignity and opportunity.
“The work that we do with our Jesuit partners doesn’t happen without your generosity, without your prayers, without your friendship, and without your solidarity,” Forde expressed to supporters.
The Sydney event concluded with a moving cultural exchange where the Timorese Jesuits performed songs of gratitude and resilience, including a traditional song written during the fight for Timorese independence. The Jesuits reminded supporters that, as St Ignatius taught, we are called to “find God in all things” and to walk together in companionship and solidarity.
