What’s on the Pope’s itinerary?published at 07:20 British Summer Time
Let’s take a closer look at Francis’ itinerary for this ambitious four-nation trip.
He has just arrived in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, where he will spend three days. During that time he’ll visit the main mosque, meet with outgoing president Joko Widodo, and hold a mass for some 70,000 people.
Francis’ next stop is Papua New Guinea. There, he will travel to the remote, poverty-wracked city of Vanimo to meet with missionaries from his native Argentina who have been reaching out to tribal communities.
Then, in Timor-Leste, Francis will officiate mass in the capital Dili, on the same seaside esplanade where John Paul II spoke in 1989 to comfort local Catholics who suffered under Indonesian occupation.
Finally, the Pope will wrap up his trip in Singapore, where he will celebrate mass at the 55,000-seater National Stadium. Francis’ visit to Singapore, where three-quarters of the population are ethnically Chinese, is widely seen as an attempt to improve ties with China.
He will travel back to Rome on 13 September.