Pope Francis fulfilled his dream as a young Jesuit by visiting Asia and Oceania

As is customary after each apostolic trip, Pope Francis dedicated today’s General Audience to reflecting on his time in Asia and Oceania.

From September 2 to 11, the Holy Father visited Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore, making the longest trip of his pontificate.

Pope Francis arrived in a popemobile on September 18 in sunny St. Peter’s Square and greeted the faithful present, stopping to kiss numerous small children.

A wedding announcement

Before beginning, Pope Francis presented to the public two “suicides”, a man and a woman who were in charge of reading the previous readings and who will get married next Saturday.

After asking for applause for them, he highlighted that “it is nice to see when love takes us forward to form a new family and that is why I wanted to present these two, to thank the Lord.”

At the beginning of his reflection, the Holy Father specified that his trip is “apostolic” and not “touristy,” since he is doing it to make the Word of God known and at the same time know “the soul of the people.”

He stressed that on this recent trip he wanted to follow the example of Paul VI, when he visited the Philippines and Australia.

“I thank the Lord, who allowed me to do as an elderly Pope what I would have liked to do as a young Jesuit!” he exclaimed next, since the Holy Father had the desire to go there as a missionary when he was young.

“The Church is much bigger than Rome or Europe”

He also specified that, when thinking about the Church, we are still too “Eurocentric” or also “Western.”

In reality, the Pontiff noted, “the Church is much larger,” more than Europe or Rome, and affirmed that it is also “more alive.”

“I experienced it with emotion when I got to know those communities, listening to the testimonies of priests, nuns, lay people, especially catechists. Churches that do not proselytize, but rather grow by attraction.”

In Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, the Holy Father found “a living, dynamic Church, capable of living and transmitting the Gospel.”

In that context, he had confirmation “of how compassion It is the path along which Christians can and must walk to bear witness to Christ the Savior and at the same time encounter the great religious and cultural traditions.”

He also assured that there he saw “that fraternity is the future, it is the answer to anti-civility, to the diabolical plots of hatred and war and also sectarianism.”

The beauty of a missionary Church

In Papua New Guinea, the second stop on the longest journey of his pontificate, he found the beauty “of a missionary Church on its way out.”

There, where different ethnic groups speak more than eight hundred languages, he noted that it is “an ideal environment for the Holy Spirit, who loves to make the message of Love resonate in the symphony of languages.” He also added that the Holy Spirit is the “chief of harmony.”

“It gladdened my heart to be able to spend some time with today’s missionaries and catechists; and I was moved to hear the songs and music of the young people: in them I saw a new future, without tribal violence, without dependency, without economic or ideological colonialism,” he expressed.

In this sense, he highlighted that Papua New Guinea can be a “laboratory” for this model of integral development, animated by the “ferment” of the Gospel.

He also highlighted the bravery of the Vanimo missionaries, who go into the forest in search of the most hidden tribes and that the faith must be “inculturated” and that cultures are evangelized. Faith and culture.

“I will never forget the smile of the children”

Regarding his country in East Timor, he highlighted that it is a people “tried but happy, a people wise in suffering.”

“A town that not only generates many children — there was a sea of ​​children, many — but also teaches them to smile. I will never forget the smile of the children, of that country, of that region. The children there always smile, and there are so many of them,” he noted.

Furthermore, he stated that there he saw the youth of the Church: families, children, young people, many seminarians and aspirants to the consecrated life. “I would like to say, without exaggeration, that I breathed spring air.”

A hope greater than economic benefits

The last leg of this trip was Singapore, “a very different country from the other three.”

“Christians there are a minority, but they continue to form a living Church, committed to generating harmony and fraternity among different ethnicities, cultures and religions,” he said.

For the Holy Father, even in rich Singapore there are “little ones” who follow the Gospel and become salt and light, “testimonies of a greater hope.” of that which economic benefits can guarantee.”

Finally, he thanked these people for welcoming him “with so much warmth, with so much love,” as well as their rulers and authorities.

“I thank God for the gift of this trip and I renew my gratitude to all of them. May God bless the people I have found and guide them along the path of peace and fraternity,” he concluded.

Mourns flood victims in Europe

He then lamented the torrential rains and the victims caused by the floods in Austria, Romania, the Czech Republic and Poland.

He showed his closeness to the family members, assured his prayers for those who have lost their lives and thanked the volunteers for their work.

World Alzheimer’s Day

He also recalled that next Saturday, September 21, World Alzheimer’s Day will be celebrated: “Let us pray that medical science can soon offer prospects for a cure for this disease, and that more interventions will always be activated to support the sick and their families,” he urged.

Pray for the end of wars

At the end of the Hearing, he asked for peace in the world and the cessation of conflicts. He stressed that “war is a defeat” and invited not to forget “Palestine, Israel, the martyred Ukraine and Myanmar.” “May the Lord give us all a heart that seeks peace,” he concluded.