SINGAPORE: Pope Francis will embark on the longest visit of four countries across Asia and Oceania carrying the message of Catholicism.
The 87-year-old pope is scheduled to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore during his gruelling 11-day trip.
The top Catholic cleric has faced recent health issues and concerns and this is set to be his first foreign trip of 2024.
Francis will arrive in Indonesia on September 3, becoming the third visit of pope to the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. He will begin his tour with a meeting with outgoing President Joko Widodo in the country’s capital, Jakarta.
The pope will also host an interfaith gathering with representatives of Indonesia’s six officially recognized religions. The meeting will take place at Istiqlal Mosque, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia on September 5.
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After Indonesia, he will visit Papua New Guinea his first visit to a country in Oceania. According to the VOA the country’s capital, Port Moresby, was put under a state of emergency in January after deadly riots which spread to other cities in the island nation of some 10 million people.
Trouble again started in February when a gunfight broke out between tribal communities in remote highlands. The violence claimed the lives of dozens of people.
After Papua New Guinea Pope France will reach Timor-Leste, a Christian-dominant nation. More than 95% of the nearly 1.5 million population of the country are Catholics, making it one of only two majority-Catholic countries in Asia.
Francis will make a final stop in Singapore, a multi-religious city-state in the centre of Southeast Asia. Less than 10% of Singapore’s population is Catholic.
Francis has made Asia a top priority during his tenure at the Vatican, visiting the continent several times, including trips to Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Mongolia.
