Domingos Maubere

Domingos da Silva Soares (12 May 1952 – 16 May 2025), popularly known as Padre Maubere or Amu Du, was an East Timorese Roman Catholic priest, activist, and independence leader. Born in Letefoho in what was then Portuguese Timor, he attended seminary in Portugal and was ordained in 1978. In 1980, he returned to East Timor and became involved in the resistance against the Indonesian occupation (1975–1999), often supporting the guerrillas and coordinating with the movement's leaders. As a pastor in Timor-Leste, he served in parishes in Ossu, Letefoho, Ermera, Suai, and Becora, Dili.

Soares was a founding member of the National Council of Maubere Resistance (CNRT). In the years following Timor-Leste's independence in 2002, he remained an outspoken activist on issues like corruption, abuse of power, violence against women, and social inequality. Between 2008 and 2017, he studied and worked in Macau, briefly returning to Timor-Leste in 2015–2016 to serve as vicar general of the Diocese of Dili. He died in Dili in May 2025 after a lengthy illness. Provided by Wikipedia