Pope Francis will embark on an 11-day trip on September 2 that will take him to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.
During the longest trip of his pontificate so far — which includes numerous events in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, Indonesia — the pope is expected to emphasize the themes of interreligious dialogue, solidarity and peace.
Receive the main news from ACI Prensa by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channels today:
Below, a more detailed look at all the destinations the Pope will visit during his apostolic journey, but first, a broader look at the seven flights he will take, which will take him approximately 32,000 kilometers in total:
Flight 1: Rome to Jakarta (11,354 km, 13 hours and 15 minutes)
Rome to Jakarta
Departing Fiumicino International Airport in Rome at dusk, the Pope’s plane will cross the Middle East and India en route to Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Jakarta is a sprawling metropolis and the capital of Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country in the world in terms of population.
Indonesia, an archipelago with almost 1,000 inhabited islands, is approximately 7.5% Protestant and 3% Catholic. Many of the country’s Catholics live on Flores, an island that was recently designated as an international pilgrimage destination by the government.
The Pope will be officially received in Jakarta when he arrives on September 3 and will take the rest of the day to rest. The next day, September 4, there will be a welcome ceremony outside the Istana Merdeka Presidential Palace before the Pope visits President Joko Widodo.
Francis will be the third pope to visit Indonesia, after Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II.
The Pope’s second full day in Jakarta will begin with an interfaith meeting at the Istiqlal Mosque, the ninth largest mosque in the world.
Security in Indonesia during the Pope’s visit is expected to be high; Indonesia has seen numerous terrorist attacks in recent years that have targeted the country’s Christian minority.
Pope Francis will conclude his time in Indonesia with a Mass on the evening of September 5 at Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, which has a capacity of 77,000, after meeting beneficiaries of local charities.
Flight 2: Jakarta to Port Moresby (4,693 km, 6 hours and 5 minutes)
Jakarta to Port Moresby
On September 6, Pope Francis will fly to Papua New Guinea’s capital, Port Moresby, becoming the second pope to visit after St. John Paul II, who visited twice.
Despite being extremely diverse, more than 98% of Papua New Guinea’s citizens identify as Christian, and the Church plays a crucial role in education, healthcare and social services.
Catholicism represents the largest Christian denomination in the country with approximately 4 million people—about 25% of the total population. The country suffered violence due to riots earlier this year in a wave of unrest on January 10, now known as “Black Wednesday.”
Pope Francis will visit local ministries serving street children and people with disabilities on his first full day in Papua New Guinea on September 7, which also includes an address to local political authorities and an address to local clergy at the Shrine. of Mary Help of Christians.
The following day, the Pope will meet with the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, James Marape, before presiding over Sunday Mass at the Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby. He will then head to Vanimo for the rest of the day.
Flight 3: Port Moresby to Vanimo (991 km, 2 hours 15 minutes)
Port Moresby to Vanimo (round trip)
Vanimo is a town in the northwestern-most province of Papua New Guinea, where Pope Francis will greet local missionaries and address local Catholics in front of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross before departing.
Flight 4: Vanimo to Port Moresby (991 km, 2 hours and 15 minutes)
Pope Francis will return to the capital on Sunday night. On Monday, September 9, there will be a farewell ceremony for the Pope before he heads to East Timor.
Flight 5: Port Moresby to Dili (2,578 km, 3 hours 30 minutes)
Puerto Moresby a Dili
On September 9, Pope Francis will travel to the small country of East Timor, which has a population that is more than 97% Catholic and whose most prominent archbishop Francis made a cardinal in 2022.
In Dili, the country’s capital, Pope Francis will visit children with disabilities, meet with local clergy and religious at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, give a speech at the Presidential Palace and preside over a mass on the Tasitolu Esplanade at over two days.
Flight 6: Dili to Singapore (2,640 km, 4 hours)
Not Singapore
The Pope’s last stop before returning to Rome will be the island of Singapore, the country with the highest GDP per capita in Asia and the second highest population density of any country in the world. Despite Singapore’s relative stability, observers have warned that anti-Israel militant groups from Malaysia (Singapore is Malaysia’s immediate neighbor) may organize demonstrations in Malaysia to protest the Pope’s visit.
Pope Francis will be welcomed at the world-famous Changi International Airport in Singapore on September 11. He will meet President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on September 12 before presiding over a Mass at Singapore’s National Sports Hub Stadium, the third stadium Mass of the trip.
On his last day in Asia, the Pope will chair an interfaith meeting with young people at the Catholic Junior College in Singapore and visit a group of seniors.
Flight 7: Singapore to Rome (9,567 km, 12 hours and 35 minutes)
Pope Francis will make the 9,567 km journey back to Italy on a Singapore Airlines charter flight scheduled to land in Rome at 6:25 pm on September 13.
Singapore a Roma
Jonah McKeown
Jonah McKeown is an editor and podcast producer for Catholic News Agency. He has a master’s degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has worked as a writer, radio producer and videographer.