the catholic church in east timor, based only from latin rites, currently consists of one archdiocese and two dioceses forming an ecclesiastical province. previously, it only comprised three exempt dioceses, all immediately subjecting to the holy see and depending on the roman congregation for the evangelization of peoples. on september 11, 2019, pope francis elevated the "diocese of dili" to the rank of a metropolitan archdiocese and, at the same time, formed the "ecclesiastical province of dili". he also raised bishop virgílio do carmo da silva to the rank of an archbishop.