Father João Felgueiras died today in Dili at the age of 105, a source from the Jesuit residence in the Timorese capital told Lusa.
João de Vasconcelos Baptista Felgueiras, a native of Caldas das Taipas in the municipality of Guimarães, was ordained as a priest in 1950 and had resided in Timor-Leste since 1971, having celebrated his 105th birthday in June. João Felgueiras dedicated his life to education and the Portuguese language, even when it was banned in Timor-Leste during the Indonesian occupation.
The former Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio decorated the Jesuit priest in 2002 as a Grand Officer of the Order of Liberty for his fight to preserve the Portuguese language in Timor-Leste. In 2016, he was decorated by the former Timorese head of state Taur Matan Ruak with the insignia of the Order of Timor-Leste.
In 2022, he received another decoration from a President of Portugal when former head of state Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa distinguished him with the Grand Cross of the Order of Camões.
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I feel Portuguese and Timorese, he explained in an interview with Lusa four years ago when he inaugurated the expansion of the Amigos de Jesus School, which he founded. I came here as a missionary to work for as long as the Society of Jesus wanted, and so it has been until now, we all contributed.
The past was lived, and I am happy to have lived in peace, I did nothing against anyone, nothing bad against the people, and I am glad to have been able to contribute something, emphasized the man who educated several generations of Timorese.
