Pope Francis will meet with young people, marginalized people, government officials, bishops, priests, religious and missionaries during his trip to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore in September.
The 12-day tour of Asia will be the longest of his pontificate. He plans to visit Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, from September 3 to 6; Port Moresby and Vanimo, in Papua New Guinea, from September 6 to 9; Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, from September 9 to 11; and Singapore from September 11 to 13.
The central point of the visit will be the meeting with the populations of the peripheries of countries that are also at the ends of the planet. He will meet the elderly, the sick, the “street children”, the disabled and all those who care for them, as well as leaders of governments and civil society.
He will hold meetings with local Catholics and his Jesuit colleagues and celebrate Masses in all four countries. During his visit to Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country, he will host an interfaith meeting at the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta. He will also hold an interfaith meeting with young people in Singapore, which, according to a 2014 Pew Research Center analysis, appears to be the most religiously diverse country in the world.
With 281.5 million people, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world and home to the largest Muslim population of any country in the world, according to the CIA World Factbook. About 87.4% of the population is Muslim, 7.5% Protestant, 3.1% Catholic, and 1.7% Hindu.
Papua New Guinea, an island nation in Oceania, is a member of the British Commonwealth. It is the third-largest island nation in the world and is home to at least 10 million people. It is considered the most linguistically diverse country in the world, with approximately 840 known indigenous languages. About 70% of the population is Christian, 26% is Catholic, and 1.4% belong to a non-Christian religion, according to the World Factbook.
Internationally recognized as an independent state in 2002, Timor-Leste was under Portuguese and then Indonesian rule for decades. At least 100,000 people died during a two-decade “pacification” program, and nearly 500,000 were displaced by anti-independence militias before 2002.
After years of conflict and instability, Timor-Leste remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Of the country’s 1.5 million people, 97.6% are Catholic, 2% are Protestant or evangelical Christian and 0.2% are Muslim.
A former British trading colony, Singapore is now one of the most prosperous countries in the world. With a population of 6 million, 31.1% are Buddhist, 18.9% are Christian (of which 37.1% identify as Catholic), 15.6% are Muslim, 8.8% are Taoist, 5% are Hindu and 20% do not identify as religious.
Here is the detailed schedule of the pope’s trip released by the Vatican on July 5. Times listed are local times, with Eastern Daylight Time in parentheses.
Monday, September 2 (Rome)
— 5:15 p.m. (11:15 p.m.) Departure from Rome Fiumicino Airport.
Tuesday, September 3 (Jakarta)
— 11:30 (12:30) Arrival at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and official welcome.
Wednesday, September 4 (Jakarta)
— 9:30 a.m. (10:30 p.m. on September 3) Welcome ceremony in front of the Istana Merdeka presidential palace.
— 10 a.m. (11 p.m. on September 3) Courtesy visit with President Joko Widodo at the presidential palace.
— 10:35 a.m. (11:35 p.m. on September 3) Meeting with authorities, members of the diplomatic corps and local representatives at the Istana Negara Presidential Palace. Speech by the Pope.
— 11:30 a.m. (12:30 p.m.) Private meeting with members of the Society of Jesus at the Apostolic Nunciature.
— 4:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m.) Meeting with bishops, priests, deacons, religious, seminarians and catechists at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption. Speech by the Pope.
— 5:35 p.m. (6:35 a.m.) Meeting with young workers with Scholas Occurrentes at the Grha Pemuda Youth Center.
Thursday, September 5 (Jakarta)
— 9 a.m. (10 p.m. on September 4) Interreligious meeting at the Istiqlal Mosque. Speech by the Pope.
— 10:15 (23:15 on September 4) Meeting with people receiving aid from charitable organizations at the headquarters of the Indonesian Bishops’ Conference.
— 5:00 p.m. (6:00 a.m.) Mass at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. Homily of the Pope.
Friday, September 6 (Jakarta, Port Moresby)
— 9:15 a.m. (10:15 p.m. on September 5) Farewell ceremony at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta.
— 9:45 a.m. (10:45 p.m. on September 5) Departure by plane for Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
— 6:50 p.m. (4:50 a.m.) Arrival at Jacksons International Airport in Port Moresby and welcome ceremony.
Saturday 7 September (Port Moresby)
— 9:45 a.m. (7:45 p.m. on September 6) Courtesy call with Bob Dadae, Governor-General of Papua New Guinea, at Government House.
— 10:25 a.m. (8:25 p.m. on September 6) Meeting with authorities, members of the diplomatic corps and local representatives at APEC House. Speech by the Pope.
— 5 p.m. (3 a.m.) Visit to children receiving assistance from the Street Ministry programs and Callan Services, a network of service providers for children and adults with disabilities, at a technical secondary school run by Caritas.
— 5:40 p.m. (3:40 a.m.) Meeting with the bishops of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, priests, deacons, religious, seminarians and catechists at the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians. Speech by the Pope.
Sunday 8 September (Port Moresby, Vanimo, Port Moresby)
— 7:30 a.m. (5:30 p.m. on September 7) Visit of Prime Minister James Marape to the Apostolic Nunciature.
— 8:45 a.m. (6:45 p.m. on September 7) Mass at Sir John Guise Stadium. Pope’s homily, Angelus prayer.
— 13:00 (23:00 on September 7) Departure by plane from Jacksons International Airport in Port Moresby to Vanimo Airport.
— 3:15 p.m. (1:15 a.m.) Arrival at Vanimo airport.
— 3:30 p.m. (1:30 a.m.) Meeting with Catholics from the diocese of Vanimo on the esplanade in front of the Holy Cross Cathedral. Speech by the Pope.
— 4:50 p.m. (2:50 a.m.) Private meeting with a group of missionaries at the Holy Trinity Humanist School in Baro.
— 17:40 (3:40) Departure by plane from Vanimo Airport to Jacksons International Airport in Port Moresby.
— 7:55 p.m. (5:55 a.m.) Arrival at Jacksons International Airport.
Monday, September 9 (Port Moresby, Dili)
— 9:45 a.m. (7:45 p.m. on September 8) Meeting with young people at Sir John Guise Stadium. Speech by the Pope.
— 11:10 a.m. (9:10 p.m. on September 8) Farewell ceremony at Jacksons International Airport.
— 11:40 (21:40 on September 8) Depart by plane from Jacksons International Airport in Port Moresby for Dili, Timor-Leste.
— 2:10 p.m. (1:10 a.m.) Arrival at Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport in Dili and official welcome.
— 6 p.m. (5 a.m.) Welcome ceremony in front of the presidential palace.
— 6:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m.) Courtesy visit with President José Ramos-Horta at the presidential palace.
— 7:00 p.m. (6:00 a.m.) Meeting with authorities, members of the diplomatic corps and local representatives at the presidential palace. Speech by the Pope.
Tuesday, September 10 (Dili)
— 8:45 a.m. (7:45 p.m. on September 9) Visit to the handicapped children who attend the Irmas Alma school.
— 9:30 a.m. (8:30 p.m. on Sept. 9) Meeting with bishops, priests, deacons, religious, seminarians and catechists at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Speech by the Pope.
— 10:45 a.m. (9:45 p.m. on September 9) Private meeting with members of the Society of Jesus at the Apostolic Nunciature.
— 4:30 p.m. (3:30 a.m.) Mass on the esplanade of the Tasitolu marshes. Homily of the Pope.
Wednesday, September 11 (Dili, Singapore)
— 9:30 a.m. (8:30 p.m. on September 10) Meeting with young people at the Congress Center. Speech by the Pope.
— 10:45 a.m. (9:45 p.m. on September 10) Farewell ceremony at Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport.
— 11:15 a.m. (10:15 p.m. on September 10) Departure by plane from Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport to Singapore.
— 2:15 p.m. (2:15 a.m.) Arrival at Changi International Airport in Singapore and official welcome.
— 6:15 p.m. (6:15 a.m.) Private meeting with members of the Society of Jesus at the Saint-François-Xavier Retreat Center.
Thursday, September 12 (Singapore)
— 9 a.m. (9 p.m. on September 11) Welcoming ceremony outside Parliament.
— 9:30 a.m. (9:30 p.m. on September 11) Courtesy call with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam of Singapore.
— 9:55 a.m. (9:55 p.m. on September 11) Meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
— 10:30 (10:30 on September 11) Meeting with authorities, members of the diplomatic corps and local representatives at the National University of Singapore Cultural Center Theatre. Address by the Pope.
— 5:15 p.m. (5:15 a.m.) Mass at the National Sports Hub Stadium. Homily by the Pope.
Friday, September 13 (Singapore, Rome)
— 9:15 a.m. (9:15 p.m. on September 12) Visit of a group of elderly and sick people to the Maison Sainte-Thérèse.
— 10:00 a.m. (10:00 p.m. on September 12) Interreligious meeting with young people from the Catholic Junior College. Speech by the Pope.
— 11:20 a.m. (11:20 p.m. on September 12) Farewell ceremony at Changi International Airport.
— 11:50 a.m. (11:50 p.m. on September 12) Departure by plane from Changi International Airport for Rome.
— 6:25 p.m. (12:25 p.m.) Arrival at Rome Fiumicino International Airport.
