Vatican City – The Vatican announced Friday that Pope Francis will visit Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Singapore in September, marking the longest trip of his papacy that is sure to test Francis' health, strength and mobility. confirmed.
The Vatican confirmed the visit from September 2 to 13, announcing that the 87-year-old pope will visit Jakarta, Indonesia. Port Moresby and Vanimo, Papua New Guinea. Dili, East Timor. And Singapore. Details will be announced later.
Francis' health has been a source of concern and speculation, even though the pope has been able to maintain a demanding schedule that includes meetings at the Vatican and trips to local parishes.
Francis, who had part of one of his lungs removed when he was young, developed severe bronchitis and was forced to cancel a planned visit to Dubai late last year. He suffered from respiratory problems throughout the winter and had to cut back on his participation in Holy Week events to conserve energy for Easter.
Francis also said he has been using a wheelchair for nearly two years due to bad knee ligaments, making travel increasingly difficult.
Still, at 11 days, the trip was the longest of Francis' pontificate, surpassing by several days some of his extended trips to the Americas earlier in his 11-year pontificate. Under this plan, Argentina's Jesuits will be sent to Indonesia, the world's most populous Islamic country, and East Timor, a former Portuguese colony where the Catholic Church has tremendous influence.
Additional visits may be added at a later date. Vatican Foreign Minister Archbishop Paul Gallagher visited Vietnam this week to discuss a papal visit, Vatican News reported, without giving details.
In a statement announcing the visit, Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the visit and recalled that it was originally scheduled for 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Pope Francis’ visit to Indonesia has great significance for the Indonesian people, not only for Catholics but also for all religious communities. This visit reinforces the message of tolerance, unity and world peace. We look forward to seeing you again,” he said in a statement.
According to the Ministry of Religious Affairs' 2022 report, there are approximately 242 million Muslims and 29 million Christians living in Indonesia, of whom 8.5 million are Catholic.
East Timor, with a current population of approximately 1.2 million, is the only country in Southeast Asia with a majority Christian population, excluding the Philippines. According to the 2015 census, 97.6% of Timor-Leste's population is Catholic.
The East Timor visit is likely to reignite attention to the clergy sex abuse scandal involving the revered independence hero and Nobel Peace Prize winner. In 2022, the Vatican confirmed that it had sanctioned Bishop Carlos Jimenez Bello after he was accused of sexually abusing young boys in the 1990s. Bello is believed to be currently living in Portugal.
Francis will be the first pope to visit Papua New Guinea since St. John Paul II visited the country in 1984. The country is located in a strategically important region of the South Pacific and has suffered from inter-tribal violence and civil war.
John Paul also visited Singapore in 1986. There are currently 395,000 Catholics living in the country, and Archbishop Francis will become Singapore's first cardinal in 2022.
Cardinal William Goh said in a statement welcoming the visit that it “will bring renewed zeal to all Catholics in Singapore and unite them in faith and mission, especially during these most difficult times.”
The Vatican is planning just one more papal trip this year – to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of a Catholic university in Belgium. Francisco has also said he would like to return to his native Argentina, but no plans or dates have been announced.
___
Karmini contributed from Jakarta, Indonesia.
