Pope Francis’ trip to south-east Asia will test his health and message

At the age of 87, Pope Francis will embark on an 11-day trip to south-east Asia that will test both his physical health and the core messages of his pontificate, focusing on the poor, the environment and a Catholic Church at the margins.

The papal trip, which will take place Sept. 2-13, presents the most ambitious schedule that Francis has ever faced on an apostolic visit. He will visit four countries — Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore — crossing over 20,000 miles for a total of 44 flight hours.

Francis’ age and health struggles, including a brief hospital visit in February, have led some Vatican experts to speculate whether the papal trip might be one of the last. But defying expectations, the pope has already scheduled travel to Belgium and Luxembourg Sept. 26-29.

“I’ll be honest: I’m younger than the pope, and I feel that these long trips are hard,” said Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, 67, in an interview with Vatican News outlets. “To embrace this hardship is an act of humanity for him. It’s not a show to prove what he is still capable of,” he added.

In the diverse ethnic and cultural tapestry of these South Asian countries, Francis is expected to bring his message for pluralism and dialogue with Muslim communities as well as an emphasis on poverty and migration. The Argentine pope has increasingly shifted the attention of the Catholic Church toward the Global South, where religion isn’t being defeated by the secularism of Europe, and the population has grown consistently for decades.

“Many Western countries are returning to the experience of a church that is like a small flock. It can be positive to look at the churches in many Eastern countries to see how to act when you are in this situation, in a state of smallness,” Tagle said.

All four countries that the pope will visit have been previously visited by his predecessors, and many have a long history of martyrdom and missionaries, including the Jesuit St. Francis Xavier. These countries have a “rich and troubled history of evangelization,” said Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni during a briefing to Vatican reporters on Friday, adding Francis’ visit will acknowledge the past and current challenges.

Indonesia, with its massive archipelago of islands with unique cultural, religious and ethnic backgrounds, will be the pope’s first stop on his voyage, and it will give Francis the opportunity to address the country’s “vocation for pluralism,” Bruni explained.

Having landed in Jakarta, Indonesia, the pope will begin his official meetings with state and diplomacy representatives when he will pronounce his first official speech of the trip. On the same day, he is expected to meet with the leaders and faithful of the Catholic community in the country at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption followed by an encounter with young students of the international education organization Scholas Occurrentes.

“The visit has been welcomed with great interest, especially by Catholics in the country, but also by Muslims,” said Fr. Markus Solo, a member of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, during a meeting with Vatican journalists.

Indonesia is considered the largest Muslim-majority country in the world, and Catholics are considered a minority, comprising roughly 3% of the population. Dialogue with Islam is a major element of Francis’ efforts as pope, having co-signed a historic document on human fraternity with the Grand Imam of al-Azhar in 2019. The same messages of tolerance and cohabitation will likely emerge on Thursday, Sept. 5, when Francis will take part in an interreligious meeting at the Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in south-east Asia.

Francis will also meet with representatives of local Catholic charities that same day, before celebrating Mass at the Galora Bung Karno Stadium.

The pope will step foot on the continent of Oceania for the first time when he arrives in Papua New Guinea on Sept. 6. The next day he will meet with the general governor and then with the representatives of APEC, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation of 21 economies, including China, Russia and Taiwan.

In the afternoon, Francis will also meet with students and children being catered to by Catholic charities, and he will have a chance to meet with Catholic clergy in the country. On Sept. 8, the pope will celebrate Mass at the Sir John Guise Stadium and later get on a plane toward the province of Sandaun for a two-hour meeting with Argentine missionaries.

After a meeting with local youth on Sept. 9, Francis will have a chance to say goodbye to the people of Papua New Guinea during an open-air Mass. Bruni said that these countries “caught between the ocean and the sky” will likely provide the opportunity for the pope to discuss the importance of caring for the environment and to cherish the traditions and teachings of indigenous populations.

When Pope John Paul II visited Timor-Leste in 1989, his visit became a catalyst for independence as global attention centred on its impoverished people. Francis will encounter the youngest country in Asia when he lands on Tuesday Sept. 10, but poverty still afflicts many of its citizens.

Timor-Leste is the only Catholic-majority country in Southeast Asia, and it will offer Francis a chance to speak to numerous faithful in the region who have been longing to see the pope.

Challenging the church’s reputation in the young Catholic country are the recent scandals concerning sexual abuse. The Vatican admitted in 2022 that it had applied restrictions on East Timorese Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo in 2020 following reports that he had sexually abused at least six minors in the 1990s. Belo was considered a hero of the Timor-Leste independence and won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1996.

Francis is expected to address the scandals during his visit, and the sex abuse crisis will likely cast a shadow on the trip.

After official and diplomatic encounters, Francis will visit the school for children with disabilities, Irmãs Alma. He will also meet with representatives of the clergy and members of the Jesuit community. Francis is expected to celebrate an open-air Mass at Taci Tolu wetlands and meet with young Catholics in the country.

The final destination of the pope’s lengthy journey will be Singapore, and the towering iron buildings of the south-eastern financial power will likely be in stark contrast to the jungles and beaches of the other countries. Francis will likely address the challenges of technological and economic development while in Singapore, Bruni said.

Recently elected Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is the first Christian to hold that office in the country.

After a welcoming ceremony at the Parliament House on Thursday Sept. 12, the pope will celebrate Mass at the national stadium. The last day of the trip, the pope will meet sick and elderly people at the St. Theresa house, followed by an interreligious event at the Catholic Junior College.

Most Singaporeans are Buddhists, but there is also a large percentage of non-religious, 20%, and Christians, 18.9%, according to a 2020 census. Over 20% of the considerable Chinese population in Singapore is Christian, and Vatican observers have questioned whether the pope’s visit to the country will also offer an opportunity to reach out to authorities in Beijing.

The relations between the Vatican and China have been strenuous, but the two countries have recently signed a controversial deal for the appointment of bishops that is up for renewal in October. The document allows Chinese authorities to compile a list of possible candidates for bishops that the pope can choose from.

According to the Rev. Francis Lim, the Jesuit regional superior for Malaysia and Singapore, it’s “unlikely that Pope Francis will mention China while in Singapore.” The relations between China and Singapore are mainly economic, he said, and “the government does not have a strong connection with China.”

While there is nothing on the schedule concerning a meeting with Chinese authorities, Bruni said that Sino-Vatican relations remain an important subject for the pope. Francis has admitted to his desire to become the first pope to visit China one day, but with his growing age and no official diplomatic relations in sight, this South Asia trip might be the closest he’ll ever get.

Photo: Alamy