On the second stage of his Apostolic Journey to Asia and Oceania, Pope Francis visited Papua New Guinea after a four-day visit to Indonesia.
Pope Francis departed from Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Friday morning, following a private Holy Mass celebrated at the Apostolic Nunciature.
He was met at the airport by Cardinal Archbishop of Jakarta, Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, along with various dignitaries from civil and religious society, including Indonesia’s Minister for Religious Affairs.
Before his departure, Pope Francis took time to greet and bless the people gathered to bid him farewell, as well as the ground crew and other personnel preparing for his flight.
After traveling about 4700 kilometers (3000 miles) in six hours, the Pope is anticipated to land in Port Moresby on September 06, Friday night.
The Holy Father will meet with local officials, members of civil society, and the diplomatic corps on September 07, Saturday morning before starting his official visitation to Papua New Guinea with a courtesy call on Sir Bob Bofeng Dadae, the Governor General.
He will meet with kids connected to Callan Services and Street Ministry at Caritas Technical Secondary School later in the day.
The Holy Father is going to meet in the Sanctuary of Mary, Help of Christians, with the bishops of the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, as well as priests, deacons, religious men and women, seminarians, and catechists.
Following a private meeting with Prime Minister James Marape in the Apostolic Nunciature, Pope Francis will proceed to Sir John Guise Stadium on September 08, Sunday morning to celebrate the Holy Mass.
After the Mass, the Holy Father will take an aircraft over a thousand kilometers to the far northwest of the nation, to the diocese of Vanimo. He will visit the diocese's faithful during his stay and then have a meeting with a group of missionaries before leaving that same day and traveling back to Port Moresby.
On Monday, September 9, the Pope will meet with young people as part of his final engagement in Papua New Guinea. Later that day, he will travel from Port Moresby to Dili, Timor Leste, for the third stage of his Apostolic Journey.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
Latest News
