Pope Francis to meet young people, engage in dialogue in Southeast Asia and Oceania
The detailed schedule of the trip the pontiff will make from 2 to 13 September in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore has been released. The pope will deliver 16 speeches and homilies in the longest journey of his pontificate. In addition to four capitals, he will visit the mission in Vanimo. In Dili the Mass will be held on an esplanade in front of the ocean.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The Vatican Press Office today released the schedule of Pope Francis’s apostolic journey to Southeast Asia and Oceania less than two months before he arrives for a very important event for the continent. The pontiff will spend two intense weeks of long journeys, meetings, and celebrations, with particular attention to young people, to whom he will dedicate a specific moment in each of the four countries he will visit.
In Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore, Pope Francis will meet with local authorities, Catholic communities, and representatives of other religious confessions, as well as deliver 16 addresses and homilies.
The pope will leave Rome on the afternoon of 2 September for Jakarta, Indonesia, his first stop, arriving after a 13-hour and a quarter flight, when it will already be late morning of the next day, 3 September. After the official welcome at the airport, he will rest to recuperate from the long journey and time difference.
The formal welcome ceremony will see him travel the next day, 4 September, to the Istana Merdeka Presidential Palace for a private visit to President Joko Widodo (who is still in office until his successor, Prabowo Subianto, is inaugurated in October) as well as meetings with the authorities, representatives of civil society groups, and the diplomatic corps.
In the afternoon, the pope will meet with Catholic bishops, priests, religious and catechists at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, followed by a meet at the Grha Pemuda Youth House with the young people taking part in the Scholas Occurrentes project in Jakarta, the youth movement for education promoted worldwide by Francis himself.
On 5 September, Francis will still be in the Indonesian capital taking part in three different events, namely an interfaith meeting at the Istiqlal mosque (the largest in Southeast Asia and one of the largest in the world, located right in front of the Catholic cathedral), a meeting with people assisted by Catholic charities, and the Mass at Gelora Karno, the large football stadium capable of holding up to 77,000 people.
The next day, 6 September, the pope will fly to Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea (PNG), a six-hour flight. On 7 September, he will meet Governor General Robert Dadae at Government House and the authorities, representatives of civil society groups, and the diplomatic corps at Apec Haus.
In the afternoon, the pontiff will see street children at the Caritas Technical Secondary School and then the bishops, priests, religious, and pastoral workers of Papua New Guinea and the nearby Solomon Islands, at the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians.
On Sunday, 8 September, after leading the morning Mass at the Sir John Guise Stadium, Francis will fly to Vanimo to visit the local mission.
Finally, on the morning of 9 September, he will meet with PNG youth at the stadium in Port Moresby, before leaving for Timor Leste, where he will meet President José Ramos-Horta in the evening and speak to the authorities, representatives of civil society groups, and the diplomatic corps.
In Dili, 10 September will be the day to meet the local Church, culminating in a Mass in the afternoon at the Esplanade of Taci Tolu, a protected area on the shores of the ocean.
The meeting with young people will follow the next morning in the capital of Timor Leste before leaving for Singapore, the last stage of this journey.
In the city-state, 12 September will begin with courtesy visits to President Tharman Shanmugaratnam (already received in audience a few days ago in the Vatican) and the new Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong, before an address at the National University of Singapore, in front of the authorities, representatives of civil society groups, and the diplomatic corps.
In the afternoon, a large Eucharistic celebration is scheduled at the National Stadium.
The last two events before the return flight to Rome will be a meeting with a group of seniors and sick people at the Saint Thérèse House on the morning of 13 September, and the interfaith meeting with young people at the Catholic Junior College.
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