Pope Francis touches down in Muslim-majority Indonesia for landmark visit
Pope Francis during the General Audience in St. Peter's Square. Vatican City (Vatican), June 12nd, 2024 (Photo by Grzegorz Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
Pope Francis arrived in the Muslim-dominated Indonesia on Tuesday, marking the start of his longest foreign trip to date. The 87-year-old leader of the Catholic Church landed in Jakarta after a 13-hour flight from Rome aboard an ITA Airways flight.
This 12-day journey will take the pope to four countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania, including Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore. Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation with over 240 million Muslims, is the first stop on his itinerary.
The focus of the pope’s 45th international trip is on promoting peaceful coexistence among different religions. Among the countries he will visit, East Timor is the only one with a Catholic majority.
Due to the pope’s age and health, which often requires him to use a wheelchair, the intervals between his foreign trips have lengthened. His last significant journey abroad was a year ago when he visited Mongolia.
This current tour will cover over 30,000 kilometers by plane, with the pope expected to return to Rome on September 13. His next scheduled visit will be to Luxembourg and Belgium later this month.
