A trip to Asia and Oceania has been on the pope’s agenda for some time, but there are doubts whether the 87-year-old pontiff will go because of his health problems.
At the beginning of autumn, the leader of the Catholic Church is planning a long trip. Pope Francis will visit several countries in Asia. The trip is set to be the longest of his 11-year papacy. The press service of the Holy See reported this on Friday, April 12.
“Accepting the invitation of the respective heads of state and church authorities, Pope Francis will undertake an Apostolic Journey to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore from September 2 to 13,” the statement said.
The Pope is said to be in Jakarta from September 3 to 6, will visit Port Moresby and Vanimo from September 6 to 9, Dili from September 9 to 11 and Singapore from September 11 to 13. The detailed program of the visit will be announced later.
This will be Pope Francis’ first foreign trip this year and the longest of his 11-year tenure as pope.
The pope’s last international trip was a two-day stay in Marseille, France, in September. In November, he canceled a trip to the COP28 climate conference in Dubai due to pneumonia.
Let’s remember that in a recent interview, Pope Francis said that Ukraine “must have the courage to raise the white banner.” His words caused a great resonance, both in Ukraine and around the world.
Later, the press service of the Holy See explained that the Pope did not mean surrender, but a return to negotiations.
And the Kremlin said it was “sympathetic” to Francis’ remarks.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.