 | ||
Similar Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Atauro Island, Areia Branca beach an, Jardim 5 de Maio, Dili Lighthouse | ||
The Church de São António de Motael is the oldest Roman Catholic church in East Timor. It was rebuilt in 1955 in the old Portuguese style.
The church was also the pro-cathedral of Dili before the Immaculate Conception Cathedral was constructed in 1989.
The church played an important role in the independence struggle. On 28 October 1991, Indonesian troops located a group of resistance members in the Motael Church. A confrontation ensued between pro-integration activists and those in the church in which 2 people were killed.
During a ceremonial mass held in the Church in 2010 commemorating the November 12 Santa Cruz massacre, the Dili Diocese Bishop, Alberto Ricardo da Silva, called on the East Timorese Government to now liberate their people from poverty.
In 1991 Father Domingos da Cunha was the parish priest.