At the age of 87, Pope Francis will embark on an 11-day trip to south-east Asia that can test each his physical health and the core messages of his pontificate, specializing in the poor, the environment and a Catholic Church on the margins.
The papal trip, which can happen Sept. 2-13, presents probably the most ambitious schedule that Francis has ever faced on an apostolic visit. He will visit 4 countries — Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore — crossing over 20,000 miles for a complete of 44 flight hours.
Francis’ age and health struggles, including a transient hospital visit in February, have led some Vatican experts to take a position whether the papal trip may be one in every of the last. But defying expectations, the pope has already scheduled travel to Belgium and Luxembourg Sept. 26-29.
“I’ll be honest: I’m younger than the pope, and I feel that these long trips are hard,” said Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, 67, in an interview with Vatican News outlets. “To embrace this hardship is an act of humanity for him. It’s not a show to prove what he continues to be able to,” he added.
In the varied ethnic and cultural tapestry of those South Asian countries, Francis is predicted to bring his message for pluralism and dialogue with Muslim communities in addition to an emphasis on poverty and migration. The Argentine pope has increasingly shifted the eye of the Catholic Church toward the Global South, where religion is not being defeated by the secularism of Europe, and the population has grown consistently for a long time.
“Many Western countries are returning to the experience of a church that is sort of a small flock. It could be positive to take a look at the churches in lots of Eastern countries to see how one can act when you find yourself in this case, in a state of smallness,” Tagle said.
All 4 countries that the pope will visit have been previously visited by his predecessors, and lots of have an extended history of martyrdom and missionaries, including the Jesuit St. Francis Xavier. These countries have a “wealthy and troubled history of evangelization,” said Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni during a briefing to Vatican reporters on Friday, adding Francis’ visit will acknowledge the past and current challenges.
Indonesia, with its massive archipelago of islands with unique cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds, will probably be the pope’s first stop on his voyage, and it’s going to give Francis the chance to deal with the country’s “vocation for pluralism,” Bruni explained.
Having landed in Jakarta, Indonesia, the pope will begin his official meetings with state and diplomacy representatives when he’ll pronounce his first official speech of the trip. On the identical day, he is predicted to satisfy with the leaders and faithful of the Catholic community within the country on the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption followed by an encounter with young students of the international education organization Scholas Occurrentes.
“The visit has been welcomed with great interest, especially by Catholics within the country, but additionally by Muslims,” said Fr. Markus Solo, a member of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, during a gathering with Vatican journalists.
Indonesia is taken into account the most important Muslim-majority country on this planet, and Catholics are considered a minority, comprising roughly 3% of the population. Dialogue with Islam is a serious element of Francis’ efforts as pope, having co-signed a historic document on human fraternity with the Grand Imam of al-Azhar in 2019. The same messages of tolerance and cohabitation will likely emerge on Thursday, Sept. 5, when Francis will participate in an interreligious meeting on the Istiqlal Mosque, the most important in south-east Asia.
Francis may also meet with representatives of local Catholic charities that very same day, before celebrating Mass on the Galora Bung Karno Stadium.
The pope will step foot on the continent of Oceania for the primary time when he arrives in Papua New Guinea on Sept. 6. The next day he’ll meet with the final governor after which with the representatives of APEC, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation of 21 economies, including China, Russia and Taiwan.
In the afternoon, Francis may also meet with students and youngsters being catered to by Catholic charities, and he could have a probability to satisfy with Catholic clergy within the country. On Sept. 8, the pope will have fun Mass on the Sir John Guise Stadium and later get on a plane toward the province of Sandaun for a two-hour meeting with Argentine missionaries.
After a gathering with local youth on Sept. 9, Francis could have a probability to say goodbye to the people of Papua New Guinea during an open-air Mass. Bruni said that these countries “caught between the ocean and the sky” will likely provide the chance for the pope to debate the importance of caring for the environment and to cherish the traditions and teachings of indigenous populations.
When Pope John Paul II visited Timor-Leste in 1989, his visit became a catalyst for independence as global attention centred on its impoverished people. Francis will encounter the youngest country in Asia when he lands on Tuesday Sept. 10, but poverty still afflicts a lot of its residents.
Timor-Leste is the one Catholic-majority country in Southeast Asia, and it’s going to offer Francis a probability to talk to quite a few faithful within the region who’ve been longing to see the pope.
Challenging the church’s repute within the young Catholic country are the recent scandals concerning sexual abuse. The Vatican admitted in 2022 that it had applied restrictions on East Timorese Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo in 2020 following reports that he had sexually abused not less than six minors within the Nineteen Nineties. Belo was considered a hero of the Timor-Leste independence and won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1996.
Francis is predicted to deal with the scandals during his visit, and the sex abuse crisis will likely solid a shadow on the trip.
After official and diplomatic encounters, Francis will visit the college for youngsters with disabilities, Irmãs Alma. He may also meet with representatives of the clergy and members of the Jesuit community. Francis is predicted to have fun an open-air Mass at Taci Tolu wetlands and meet with young Catholics within the country.
The final destination of the pope’s lengthy journey will probably be Singapore, and the towering iron buildings of the south-eastern financial power will likely be in stark contrast to the jungles and beaches of the opposite countries. Francis will likely address the challenges of technological and economic development while in Singapore, Bruni said.
Recently elected Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is the primary Christian to carry that office within the country.
After a welcoming ceremony on the Parliament House on Thursday Sept. 12, the pope will have fun Mass on the national stadium. The last day of the trip, the pope will meet sick and elderly people on the St. Theresa house, followed by an interreligious event on the Catholic Junior College.
Most Singaporeans are Buddhists, but there may be also a big percentage of non-religious, 20%, and Christians, 18.9%, in accordance with a 2020 census. Over 20% of the considerable Chinese population in Singapore is Christian, and Vatican observers have questioned whether the pope’s visit to the country may also offer a possibility to succeed in out to authorities in Beijing.
The relations between the Vatican and China have been strenuous, however the two countries have recently signed a controversial deal for the appointment of bishops that’s up for renewal in October. The document allows Chinese authorities to compile a listing of possible candidates for bishops that the pope can select from.
According to the Rev. Francis Lim, the Jesuit regional superior for Malaysia and Singapore, it’s “unlikely that Pope Francis will mention China while in Singapore.” The relations between China and Singapore are mainly economic, he said, and “the federal government doesn’t have a robust reference to China.”
While there may be nothing on the schedule concerning a gathering with Chinese authorities, Bruni said that Sino-Vatican relations remain a vital subject for the pope. Francis has admitted to his desire to change into the primary pope to go to China sooner or later, but together with his growing age and no official diplomatic relations in sight, this South Asia trip may be the closest he’ll ever get.
© Religion News Service
