DILI (UCAN): The people of Timor-Leste rejoiced when Pope Francis made Archbishop Virgilio do Carmo da Silva if Dili a cardinal, together with 21 others, on August 27—the first cardinal for the country.
The 54-year-old Cardinal do Carmo da Silva his elevation to the College of Cardinals as “a moment of great joy, not only for myself but also for the Church and Timorese people.”
He told reporters that the day was “a proud moment for us all as Timorese people. Let’s cherish this joy by fulfilling our obligations of living as true Catholics,”
The new cardinal was born on 27 November 1967 in Venilale, and attended Salesian-run primary and secondary schools in Fatumaca, 140 kilometres east of Dili. He was ordained a priest on 18 December 1998, after studying philosophy and theology in Manila, the Philippines. In 2005, he studied at the Pontifical Salesian University, Rome, and obtained a licentiate in spirituality.
From 1999 to 2004 and again from 2007 to 2014, he served as formation director and novice master for the Salesians, and concurrently as director of the Salesian-run technical school in Fatumaca from 2009 to 2014.
In 2015, he was elected he superior for the Salesian province of East Timor and Indonesia.
He was appointed bishop of Dili by Pope Francis and ordained on 19 March 2016, succeeding Bishop Alberto Ricardo da Silva who died in April 2015.
On 11 September 2019, in conjunction with the elevation of the Dili to an archdiocese, he was appointed archbishop.
