Pope Francis has arrived in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, kicking off the longest and farthest trip of his tenure to the Asia Pacific region.
He is expected to highlight environmental concerns and the importance of interfaith dialogue during the 12-day trip, which will also see him travel to Papua New Guinea, Singapore, and Timor-Leste – the only one of the four countries that is predominantly Catholic.
It’s a particularly challenging journey for a man who turns 88 in December and has been battling a spate of health issues.
Asia Pacific is one of only a few places in the world where the Catholic Church is growing in terms of baptized faithful and religious vocations.
Parts of the Pope’s trip, which was originally scheduled in 2020 but postponed due to the pandemic, will retrace the steps of St John Paul II, who also visited the four nations during his 27-year pontificate.
“Today I begin an Apostolic Journey to several countries in Asia and Oceania,” he wrote on X on Monday. “Please pray that this journey may bear fruit.”
Since his election in 2013, the Pope has urged the Catholic Church to bring God’s comfort “toward the periphery” – referring to communities who are marginalized or far away.
He is only the third pope to visit Indonesia, which has the largest population of Muslims globally.
During his four days there, he is expected to visit the Indonesian capital’s main mosque, meet with outgoing president Joko Widodo, and hold a mass for some 70,000 people, according to the Vatican News.
