Pope Francis, at 87, will embark on his longest trip yet. In September, he will travel over 20,000 miles across four countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania. During this 12-day tour, he will visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore from September 2 to 13. This journey, spanning seven flights, marks the most ambitious international trip of his 11-year pontificate.
First Stop: Indonesia
The first stop on Pope Francis' trip is Indonesia. EWTN Vatican Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser sat down with Father Marcus Solo, an Indonesian priest and Vatican official working in the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue. They discussed the significance of the Pope’s trip.
Father Marcus said, “Christianity is growing very fast and how they practice their faith on a daily basis. It is amazing.”
Father continued to explain, “First, it is actually a diplomatic visit of Pope Francis in order to confirm Indonesia, to live and to enjoy the longstanding diplomatic relation between the Holy See and Indonesia. And the second aspect is the pastoral visit and the Catholic Indonesia being a tiny minority, is very happy, very grateful that the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church and all over the world, is coming to Indonesia after 11 years of his pontificate, after visiting more than sixty countries.”
After a 13-hour flight and a day of rest in the Indonesian capital, Pope Francis will meet with the country’s President on September 4 and deliver a speech to political leaders at the Presidential Palace.
The Pope will also visit Jakarta’s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption to meet with bishops, priests, religious sisters, and seminarians, following a private meeting with local Jesuits. The Cathedral and the nearby Istiqlal Mosque are connected by an underground tunnel, symbolizing the promotion of interreligious dialogue.
Promoting Interreligious Dialogue
Thonhauser asked, “You have been working here at the Vatican, in the Curial office of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue. How do you see religious dialogue in Southeast Asia, but also what is the situation in Indonesia concretely?”
“We live in a plural society, and we practice dialogue in various forms, and we know that Pope Francis has a particular passion for interreligious dialogue. He has been doing so many things. Our country has always followed him in his interreligious dialogue mission, and people of other religions, Muslims, Hindus, Protestants, Buddhist, and Confucianist in my country, they take Pope Francis as a model in the promotion of interreligious dialogue. The mission of interreligious dialogue will be very central, very important during this visit,” Father Marcus replied.
Pope Francis will wrap up his visit to Indonesia with a Mass on the evening of September 5 at Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium to meet the local Catholics.
Next Destination: Papua New Guinea
On September 6, he will travel nearly 3,000 miles to Papua New Guinea’s sprawling capital of Port Moresby.
On September 7, Pope Francis will visit local ministries caring for street children and persons with disabilities during his first full day in Papua New Guinea. He will also address local political authorities and then local clergy.
The next day, the pope will meet with the Prime Minister and preside over Sunday Mass at Port Moresby’s Sir John Guise Stadium.
He will then fly to Vanimo, a city in the northwesternmost province of Papua New Guinea, where he will greet local missionaries and address local Catholics in front of the Holy Cross Cathedral before flying back to the capital city Sunday night.
East Timor: A Stronghold of Catholic Faith
Pope Francis will travel to East Timor on September 9. Unlike neighboring Indonesia, East Timor is more than 97% Catholic.
In Dili, the country’s capital, Pope Francis will visit children with disabilities, meet local clergy and religious in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, give a speech at the Presidential Palace, and preside over Mass in the Esplanade of Taci Tolu over the course of two days.
Final Stop: Singapore
The pope’s final stop before returning to Rome will be Singapore, the country with the highest GDP per capita in Asia and the second-highest population density in the world. Cardinal William Goh, Archbishop of Singapore, emphasized the significance of the pope’s visit.
He said, “The theme of evangelization is very dear to the heart of Pope Francis, but his way of evangelization is really to proclaim the joy of the Gospel, which includes welcoming people, being with the poor, with the marginalized. So, in that sense, he will be able to promote greater unity and strengthen the faith of our Catholics and also to inspire people of other faiths, that the Church is not inward looking, but we are actually at the service of humanity.”
The nearly two-week venture will be the pope’s first international trip in 2024. Pope Francis has slowed down his travel schedule in recent months as health and mobility issues, from a knee injury to recurring bronchitis, have forced him to cancel some public appearances, including his last planned foreign visit to Dubai.
Adapted by Jacob Stein
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