Welcome to the Vatican City – Over the course of two intense weeks, Pope Francis will embark on a journey of long travels, meetings, and celebrations in Southeast Asia and Oceania. With a particular focus on the youth, he will dedicate a specific moment to them in each of the four countries he will visit. The detailed program of his apostolic journey from the 2nd to the 13th of September was released today by the Vatican press office, less than two months away from this significant event for the entire continent. In Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore, Pope Francis will deliver a total of 16 speeches and homilies, engaging with authorities, local Catholic communities, and representatives of other religious denominations.
The Pope will depart from Rome in the afternoon of September 2nd, heading to Jakarta, the first stop of his journey. After a 13-hour and 15-minute flight, he will arrive in Indonesia in the late morning of the following day. Following the official welcome at the airport, Pope Francis will rest to overcome the fatigue of the journey and the time difference, with the welcoming ceremony taking place the next morning at the presidential palace. Here, he will have a private meeting with President Joko Widodo (still in office, as the inauguration of Prabowo Subianto is scheduled for October) and will meet with authorities, civil society, and the diplomatic corps. In the afternoon, the Pope will meet with the bishops, priests, nuns, and catechists of the Indonesian Church at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption before engaging with young people participating in the Scholas Occurrentes project at the Youth House Grha Pemuda in Jakarta.
On September 5th, still in the Indonesian capital, the agenda will include three key events: an interreligious meeting at the Istiqlal Mosque (the largest in Southeast Asia and one of the largest places of worship globally, located just across from the Catholic cathedral), a meeting with individuals assisted by Catholic charities, and a Mass at Gelora Bung Karno, the grand football stadium capable of accommodating up to 77,000 people.
September 6th will mark the transfer to Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, with a 6-hour flight. On September 7th, Pope Francis will meet with Governor-General Robert Dadae and engage with authorities, civil society, and the accredited diplomatic corps at the Apec House. In the afternoon, he will visit street children at Caritas Technical Secondary School and will meet with bishops, priests, nuns, and pastoral workers in this oceanic country and the nearby Solomon Islands, at the Sanctuary of Mary Help of Christians. On Sunday, September 8th, after presiding over Mass in the morning at Sir John Guise Stadium, the Pope will take a short flight to Vanimo, where he will visit the local mission. Upon return to Port Moresby in the morning of September 9th (again at the stadium), he will meet with young people from Papua New Guinea before departing for Timor-Leste, where he will meet President José Ramos-Horta in the evening and address authorities, civil society, and the diplomatic corps.
September 10th in Dili will focus on engaging with the local Church, culminating in an afternoon Mass presided over by the Pope at Taci Tolu’s promenade, a protected area situated on the shores of the ocean. The following morning in Timor-Leste’s capital, there will also be a meeting with young people before departing for Singapore, the final leg of the journey.
The central day in the city-state will be on September 12th: starting with courtesy visits to President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and the newly appointed Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, followed by a speech at the National University of Singapore addressing authorities, civil society, and the diplomatic corps. In the afternoon, a grand Eucharistic celebration is scheduled at the National Stadium. The final two engagements before flying back to Rome on the morning of September 13th will include meetings with a group of elderly and sick individuals at the House of St. Teresa and an interreligious meeting with young people at the Catholic Junior College.
