When Pope Francis touches down in the East Timorese capital of Dili this week he will be landing in a totally different nation to the one visited by his predecessor.

The last papal visit to Dili was in 1989, when Pope John Paul II arrived in territory then occupied by Indonesia, gifting East Timor's fledgling independence movement an historic boost and rare prominence on the global stage.

"It was an opportunity for us to express our right to fight for our liberation," recalled Father Francisco Barreto, who was among the crowd when protesters unfurled banners calling for independence in front of the world's TV cameras for the first time.

Now as one of the world's newest and predominantly Catholic nations prepares for a second papal visit, the 72-year-old priest said East Timor's struggle is about building the impoverished, half-island nation.

"This visit is grace from God," Barreto said by phone from Dili, where he works as a hospital and prison chaplain.

"It will bring new life, new energy, for our fight for the progress of this nation... politics and the economy are not healthy."

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