The most difficult apostolic mission awaits the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, 87, in September: he will visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. This was announced on April 14 by Matteo Bruni, director of the press service of the Holy See.
“Welcoming the invitation of the respective Heads of State and ecclesiastical authorities, Pope Francis will undertake an apostolic journey to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore from September 2 to 13, a trip to Jakarta from September 3 to 6, Port Moresby and Vanimo from September 6 to 9, Dili from September 9 to 11 and Singapore from September 11 to 13″“Bruni said in a statement.
This will be his longest apostolic journey and at the same time the most difficult: four states on two continents. However, age-related ailments will not stop the Argentine pontiff.
Pope Francis, at 87 years old, is not influenced by the ailments of age and decided to travel at the beginning of September to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.
The travel program confirms the declarations already made by each of the states. It is certainly a difficult path, which Bergoglio does not want to abandon, which confirms his great attention to Asia, highlighted the head of the Vatican press service.
The three countries – Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and East Timor – were among the countries Francis was scheduled to visit in 2020, but the trip was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now it has added Singapore, the great crossroads of Southeast Asia and, like Mongolia last year, another privileged place to interact with the Chinese people and culture, three quarters of whose population is ethnic Chinese.
In recent months there have also been hopes of a stop in Vietnam, given the progress made in relations between Hanoi and the Holy See, but as demonstrated by the recent visit of Vatican Foreign Secretary Paul Richard Gallagher, Vietnam remains out on the agenda for the moment.
A more detailed program of the Pontiff’s trip will be announced in the coming days, according to the Vatican press service.
For Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population, the September visit will be the third by a pope.
The first pontiff to visit the archipelago was Paul VI, who on December 3, 1970, during his last international apostolic trip, stopped in the capital, Jakarta, where he was warmly received by then-president Suharto.
From October 8 to 12, 1989, Pope John Paul II traveled to Indonesia on a trip that included an open-air Mass at Jakarta Stadium and stops in Medan, North Sumatra, Yogyakarta, Central Java, and the island of Flores, in the province of East Nusa Tenggara.
On the same trip, Pope Wojtyła also traveled to Dili, then located in the Indonesian province of East Timor.
Therefore, the arrival of Pope Francis in East Timor will be a very important moment. The country, along with the Philippines, the only Catholic-majority country in Asia, did not gain independence until 2002, after much bloodshed and suffering.
The Buddhist-majority city-state of Singapore is the world’s fourth largest financial center and the second most populous country after the Principality of Monaco. In 2009, it achieved the highest concentration of millionaires in relation to its population, surpassing Hong Kong, Switzerland, Qatar and Kuwait.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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