Pope Francis arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday, beginning the longest foreign trip of his term, visiting four countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania over the next 12 days.
The 87-year-old head of the Catholic Church arrived in Jakarta more than 13 hours after leaving Rome on a special flight operated by Italian airline ITA Airways.
With over 240 million Muslims, Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.
Further stops include Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.
The Pope’s 45th foreign trip will focus on peaceful coexistence between different religions. Of the four countries he will visit, only East Timor has a majority of its population identifying as Catholic.
The Pope’s agenda includes a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and a visit to the Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia.
A joint statement with Muslim representatives is also planned, emphasizing the Pope’s commitment to interfaith dialogue, particularly with Islam.
In addition, a large church service is planned in a stadium, which is expected to attract tens of thousands of believers, as is customary during papal visits.
Given Francis’ age and health, who now often uses a wheelchair, the breaks between his foreign trips have become longer. The pope’s last major foreign trip was a year ago, when he visited Mongolia.
This visit to the Indo-Pacific, originally planned for 2020 but postponed due to the pandemic, fits with Francis’ goal of reaching areas far from Rome.
The pope, who has been in power for 11 years, will travel more than 30,000 kilometers by plane during the tour and is expected to return to Rome on September 13.
There are no official appointments scheduled after his arrival. His program in Indonesia begins on Wednesday.
His next foreign trip later this month will see him visit Luxembourg and Belgium.
