Timorese priest reconnects
Local
When Father Carlos Roben came to Adelaide in November 2012 as a young seminarian from Timor Leste, it was a challenging time for him.
His father had died in May and his widowed mother was left to support seven children, including Carlos who was the oldest child and part way through his lengthy studies for the priesthood.
Fr Carlos was able to stay focused on his vocation thanks to the support of four Adelaide parishes – Brighton, Hallet Cove, Glenelg and St Ann’s – which began contributing to the education of Timorese seminarians in the early 2000s, raising more than $20,000 each year.
As a driver for the Canossian Sisters in Dili, Carlos’ father had been a big influence on his son’s decision to join the minor seminary at the age of 15.
“Motivated by my father and his association with the nuns, I had a curiosity about religious life,” Fr Carlos told The Southern Cross during his return visit to Adelaide last month.
His motivation to serve God remained steadfast, even after his father died and his faith was put to the test.
“It was a tough time, but I was able to see things from the point of view of what God wanted for me,” he said.
“I came to see that death was part of life…it proved that I was able to face this moment of difficulty.”
With fellow seminarian Filipe Moniz, also now ordained a priest, Fr Carlos visited Catholic schools and spoke to parish communities about their life in Timor Leste.
At the time, they thanked the parishioners who had been supporting them and their fellow seminarians for “becoming part of our vocation”.
“Because we are like angels with just one wing, we can only fly by embracing each other,” (John Lennon’s words) Fr Carlos added.
Fr Carlos with altar servers at St Joseph’s Church, Brighton.
It’s a sentiment that Fr Carlos reiterated last month as he reconnected with local families and expressed his gratitude for their kindness and generosity during Mass at Brighton and Glenelg.
He said before the Adelaide parishes became “benefactors” to the seminarians, his family paid for “everything”, and he sometimes felt he should be helping by working rather than studying.
“But even with these difficulties I wanted to stay in the seminary,” he explained.
In 2015 Fr Carlos went to Rome to study Theology and Theological Scripture and six years later he returned to Dili for his ordination.
He said studying in Rome was a great experience, not just from an academic perspective but because of his friendship with seminarians from all over the world.
“Getting to know each other and learning about human life gave me a lot of strength, and we had great formators who prepared us for priesthood according to what the Church needs us to be in this modern era,” he said.
Fr Carlos currently serves as the secretary to Cardinal Dom Virgilio da Silva SDB of Dili Diocese and as executive secretary to the Bishops Conference. He also lectures at the Institute of Theology and Philosophy.
Fluent in Portuguese, Italian, English, Tatum and Indonesian, he was the interpreter for the Swiss guards and the personal bodyguards of Pope Francis during the recent papal visit to Timor Leste.
“It was a wonderful experience and part of my service to the universal Church,” he said.
“With 700,000 people, nearly the whole population of Timor Leste, coming together, there were lots of security issues and protocols to consider…but when everybody went home without any disturbance we knew it was a success.”
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