POPE FRANCIS TOURS ASIA PACIFIC REGION
Edna -Ultimate Cliq
Pope Francis has arrived in Jakarta, starting the longest trip of his papacy. A 12-day journey will bring him through Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, and Timor-Leste. The Pope turns 88 in December with some health concerns.
“Today I begin an Apostolic Journey to Asia and Oceania,” he wrote on X. “Please pray that this journey may bear fruit.”
Originally planned for 2020, the trip had to be postponed due to the pandemic. It closely follows St. John Paul II’s steps. The Asia Pacific is the growing Catholic region.
In Jakarta, he will visit the central mosque. He will be meeting with outgoing President Joko Widodo, and will celebrate mass for 70,000 people. Nasaruddin Umar, grand imam of the mosque says he hopes for meaningful interfaith dialogue.
“There [have been] tensions for the longest time,” said Jonathan Tan, a religious studies expert. “The Pope wants a new way forward, not a defensive way.”
The Pope is only the third pope to visit Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. His visit underlines the Catholic Church’s interest in Christian-Muslim dialogue.
Then the Pope will travel to Vanimo, Papua New Guinea, where he will meet with missionaries from Argentina serving among that country’s tribal peoples. Father Miguel de la Calle, an Argentine missionary, bears witness that the Pope’s visit should give more vigor to evangelization.
“Some have been walking for days due to the scarcity of transportation,” said Father Miguel.
In Timor-Leste, the Pope will officiate mass on the same esplanade in Dili where John Paul II spoke in 1989. Timor Leste is a former Indonesian province, which gained its independence in 2002. The visit is one to comfort and celebrate a nation’s journey.
