Pope Francis landed in Indonesia at the start of his longest foreign trip to date. Other stops on the pope’s 12-day trip include Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.
The head of the Roman Catholic Church arrived in Jakarta, the capital of the Southeast Asian country, after a flight of more than 13 hours on a special plane operated by the Italian airline ITA.
Planned to visit a mosque
Francis also wants to visit the Istiqlal Mosque, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia. In addition, a joint declaration will be signed with Muslim representatives. A large church service is also planned in a football stadium with tens of thousands of believers.
Longer rest breaks planned
The journey will mainly be about peaceful coexistence between different religions. Only in East Timor, the third station, is the majority of the population Catholic. Out of respect for Francis’ age and health, who is now often in a wheelchair, there are always longer breaks.
Return to Rome on September 13
The pope’s last major foreign trip was a year ago, when he visited Mongolia. All told, the pope, who has been in office for 11 years, will fly more than 30,000 kilometers on his 45th foreign trip. He is scheduled to return to Rome on September 13.
Source: Krone
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