After more than 13 hours aboard the papal flight, Pope Francis lands in Jakarta, as he sets forth upon his 45th Apostolic Journey abroad, and longest thus far of his pontificate, to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, and Singapore.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
Pope Francis has arrived in Jakarta, kicking off his 45th Apostolic Journey abroad to Asia and Oceania.
The flight arrived a few minutes early at the Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in the Indonesian capital at about 11:19 AM local time. The ITA-Airways papal flight, carrying the Pope and the journalists following the Journey, had left Rome’s Fiumicino International Airport at 5:32 PM local time Monday afternoon.
Aboard the aircraft, the Holy Father individually greeted the press accompanying him.
Pope Francis greeting journalists aboard the papal flight to Jakarta
Once landed, the Holy Father was welcomed warmly in Jakarta. While he will take it easy on Tuesday with no public events on his schedule, on Wednesday, the Pope will have several appointments in the capital as he kicks off the intense 12-day Visit.
The Holy Father will spend three nights in Jakarta, before continuing his Asiatic Visit, marking the longest thus far of his pontificate, to Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, and Singapore. The Pope will be welcomed by Cardinals in each country, three of whom were created Cardinals by Pope Francis himself, as the first-ever Eminences of their countries.
Indonesia
Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim majority nation, is a very large country consisting of many islands, almost 17,000 of them and many tribes, ethnic groups, languages and cultures. Before Pope Francis, two Popes had visited the country: Pope St. Paul VI in 1970 and Pope St. John Paul II in 1989.
This Apostolic Visit to Southeast Asia is a visit Pope Francis has been anticipating prior to the pandemic.
Pope Francis is welcomed in Jakarta, Indonesia
Given that Indonesia is widely seen as a model of tolerance and coexistence, the Pope, who wrote his encyclical Fratelli tutti on human fraternity, likely will continue promoting human fraternity and interreligious dialogue.
Even if Catholics make up about 3 percent of the primarily Muslim population, that 3 percent, however, is some 8 million Catholics of the country’s 280 million people in the country built on respect for individuals and their differing religious beliefs.
The Pope will spend three nights in Jakarta, where he will hold an interreligious meeting in the Istiqlal Mosque and will celebrate Mass for the country’s Catholics.
In an interview with Vatican News, Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo of Jakarta suggested it is very common for men and women of different faiths, such as Catholics and Muslims, to marry, which is not typical within other Muslim-majority countries. He also noted that often priests come from families where a parent is Muslim or Buddhist.
For all these reasons, it is fitting Pope Francis travels here with the motto ‘Faith, Fraternity, Compassion.’
Glance at Asia
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, the President of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), told Vatican News that for the faithful in Asia, the Pope at times feels like a distant, ‘social’ presence, so his actually coming to them means a great deal.
Asians, he lamented, suffer various degrees of political oppression, poverty, and climate devastation, as well as religious persecution or lack of religious liberties. As a result, he explained, they often migrate to other countries, where he said, they keep their faith alive, and in doing so, are in a sense ‘missionaries,’ as they bring a renewed hope and zeal to these “new homes” of theirs.
Papua New Guinea
Pope St. John Paul II visited Papua New Guinea in 1984, and now, precisely 40 years later, Pope Francis is returning in his footsteps.
Papua New Guinea is a majority Christian nation, where about one in three individuals is Catholic.
In addition to bringing his personal closeness to those some 2 million Catholics, the Pope will likewise acknowledge and show his closeness to those suffering from natural disasters, largely triggered by the climate crisis, and from poverty. Pope Francis made several appeals to help the Pacific island nation after it suffered from a devastating 6.9-magnitude earthquake on 25 March 2024.
In the country’s capital of Port Moresby, programme highlights include the Papal Mass and the Pope’s meeting with children of street ministry and Callan services at the Caritas Technical Secondary School.
While throughout the Apostolic Journey the Holy Father will remain in each nation’s capital, while in Papua Nuova Guinea, he has also decided to fly to the coastal town of Vanimo, where he will meet privately with missionaries and the local faithful.
Timor Leste
The next leg of the Apostolic Journey will be in Timor Leste, Asia’s most Catholic nation.
More than 96 percent of the country is Catholic in this former Portuguese colony. The last Pope to visit was Pope St. John Paul II in 1989, when East Timor was still under Indonesian occupation.
With the motto ‘May Faith Be Your Culture’, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass in the nation, make a special visit to children with disabilities, and meet his fellow Jesuits.
Cardinal Virgilio do Carmo da Silva of Dili, who was made the first-ever Cardinal of the country by Pope Francis in August 2022, told Vatican News that “one of the urgent needs we need to pay attention to is the young people leaving our country because of poverty and unemployment,” and that the Church is studying “how to provide assistance to those who have left their homeland.”
Singapore
And finally, Pope Francis will visit the island nation of Singapore, commonly seen as an international business hub.
The Holy Father follows in the footsteps of Pope St. John Paul II who visited in 1986.
Catholics make up about six percent of Singapore’s population, constituting about 395 thousand faithful.
Yet Cardinal William Goh, who was made Singapore’s first ever Cardinal in that same 27 August 2022 consistory, had explained to Vatican News that they, nonetheless, are “quite a potent force,” saying in fact, that if their Catholic churches were any fuller, “they’d have to build more.” He acknowledged that there are not many vocations there, given there is not that tendency for men to be attracted to vocations in order to escape poverty, given the widespread affluence among members of the population.
He also expressed that the faithful, rather well educated, have rather high standards in terms of what is offered from their parish, especially the homilies.
While in Singapore, the Pope will also have an interreligious meeting with young people in the Catholic Junior college and will celebrate Mass.