While other papal Masses have drawn millions of people in more populous countries and there were certainly other nationalities attending Tuesday's mass, Tuesday's crowd in East Timor is believed to represent the biggest turnout for a papal event ever, in terms of the proportion of the population.
The Tasitolu park was a sea of yellow and white umbrellas - the colours of the Holy See flag - as Timorese shielded themselves from the afternoon sun awaiting Francis' arrival for the afternoon service.
The Catholic faithful were sprayed with water as they waited in the heat for mass with the Pope. (AP PHOTO)
They received occasional spritzes of relief from water trucks that plied the field with hoses in the 31C heat.
Tasitolu is said to have been a site where Indonesian troops disposed of bodies killed during their 24-year rule of East Timor.
Now it is known as the "Park of Peace" and features a larger-than-life-sized statue of John Paul to commemorate his 1989 visit, when the Polish pope shamed Indonesia for its human rights abuses and encouraged the overwhelmingly Catholic Timorese faithful.
John Paul's visit helped draw attention to the plight of the Timorese people and the oppressiveness of Indonesia's rule, during which as many as 200,000 people were killed over a quarter-century.
Francis was following in John Paul's footsteps to cheer on the nation two decades after it became independent in 2002.
East Timor remains one of the poorest countries, but the Timorese are deeply faithful - the territory has been overwhelmingly Catholic ever since Portuguese explorers first arrived in the early 1500s and some 97 per cent of the population today is Catholic.
East Timorese lined up before dawn to enter the Park of Peace for the papal mass. (AP PHOTO)
They have turned out in droves to welcome the first pope to visit them as an independent nation.
President Jose Ramos-Horta said he expected 700,000 to attend the mass and the Vatican had predicted as many as 750,000.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni cited crowd estimates by local organisers that 600,000 people were attending in the Tasitolu park and surrounding areas.
They lined up before dawn to enter the park, on the coast about 8km from downtown Dili.
"For us, the pope is a reflection of the Lord Jesus, as a shepherd who wants to see his sheep, so we come to him with all our hearts as our worship," said Alfonso de Jesus, who also came from Baucau, the country's second-largest city after Dili.
De Jesus, 56, was among the estimated 100,000 people who attended John Paul's 1989 mass, which made headlines around the world because of a riot that broke out just as it was ending.
Francis has cheered East Timor for the progress it has achieved since independence and is seeking to encourage the country to strengthen its public institutions and look out for the poorest and most vulnerable.
Young girls presented Pope Francis with a traditional shawl as he arrived at the Irmas Alma school. (AP PHOTO)
Francis arrived in the country Monday and on Tuesday morning visited a home for disabled children run by a congregation of religious sisters.
Young girls, including one without arms, presented Francis with a traditional shawl known as a tais as he arrived at the Irmas Alma school.
As he stroked the hand of a young boy named Silvano in a stroller, Francis said taking care of children with such health needs "teaches us to care."
"As he allows himself to be cared for, we must learn to be cared for by God, who loves us," Francis said.
Francis then met clergy and religious sisters at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, where he praised the women of the church and said their dignity must always be respected.
