Holiday Ayo - Are Demolished Pope Francis' Apostolic Journey continues. Currently Timor Leste is demolishing residents' houses in Tasitolu near the capital Dili to expand the venue for the holy mass with Pope Francis next week.

Tasitolu is located 15 minutes drive from Dili. This area consists of a large open space in the middle of the village area which will be the location for the holy mass led by Pope Francis.

As many as 95 percent of the total 1.3 million population of Timor Leste are Catholics. This is the largest proportion of the Catholic population in a country, even outside the Vatican.

Therefore, the Pope's three-day visit on September 9-12 will be the biggest and most historic event since Timor Leste became independent from Indonesia in 2002.

It is estimated that as many as 700 thousand people or around 53.8 percent of Timor Leste's population will attend the holy mass led by Pope Francis in the Tasitolu field.

Meanwhile, quoted by ABC Net, government officials are worried that the field will not have enough capacity.

Because of this, the government claims to have to evict hundreds of houses built illegally in the area.

"I'm very sad. They gave us very short notice and now they come and destroy our houses," Ana Bela da Cruz, a resident whose house was evicted, told ABC Net.

Even though the arrival of Pope Francis was an unhappy moment for some residents who had to be forcibly evicted, the enthusiasm of the people of Dili to welcome the Holy Father was very great.

“Welcome Pope Francis” billboards are everywhere, Pope t-shirts are sold on the side of the road, and it's a topic of conversation wherever you go.

"I'm so happy, I'm counting the days," Bendita de Jesus, a market trader in Dili, told ABC Net.

"I'm very happy he came," said Angelina Pereira Soares, another market trader.

"However, it is good that the Pope came to visit Timor. He will see our suffering and struggles in everyday life."

For the people of Tasitolu, this is the core of the problem that is currently occurring. When Timor-Leste officially gained independence in 2002 after decades of brutal Indonesian occupation, areas like Tasitolu were handed back to the people.

Tasitolu was declared a protected park and wetland. Later, poorer Timorese moved to the capital to find work and set up home there - in Australia they were known as squatters, or locally as orang rai estadu.

They built communities on the outskirts of wetland areas. Children go to school nearby. But now, the government wants the region gone.