Singapore to welcome Pope Francis in September during pontiff’s South-East Asia journey

Pope Francis, non secular chief of the worldwide Catholic Christian inhabitants, will embark on an Apostolic Journey throughout elements of South-East Asia from September 2 to 13 this 12 months, and Singapore is on the papal itinerary. The different locations he’ll go to are Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Timor-Leste.

Announcement of the journey was made on Instagram on Friday by the official ‘Vatican News’ account. Responding with pleasure, Singapore Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong additionally posted on Instagram that he had met Pope Francis in January 2022 they usually had mentioned a papal go to to the island nation.

“So I’m very pleased to hear that Singapore will likely be welcoming Pope Francis this September,” wrote minister Tong on the social community.

Giving particulars of the South-East Asia go to, Vatican News posted: “Pope Francis will make an Apostolic Journey to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore on September 2-13, 2024.

“The Holy See Press Office made the announcement on Friday, saying the Pope had accepted the invitation of the Heads of State and native Church authorities.

“The Pope is scheduled to depart Rome on his forty third Apostolic Journey overseas on September 2, travelling first to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, the place he’ll land on September 3 and stay till September 6. Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, and Catholics quantity over 8 million, or 3.1 per cent of the inhabitants.

“He will then fly east to go to Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, and Vanimo on September 6-9. Around 32 per cent of Papua New Guinea’s inhabitants are Catholic, numbering round 2 million.

“His subsequent cease will likely be in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste, on September Sept. 11. Timor-Leste is overwhelmingly Catholic, accounting for round 96 per cent of the inhabitants, counting over 1 million individuals.

“From there, the Pope will journey to Singapore for a 3-day go to on September 11-13. Some 395,000 Catholics reside in Singapore, representing round 3 per cent of the inhabitants.”

Minister Edwin Tong recollects “heat and kindness” of Pope Francis

Describing his assembly with the Pope, the Singapore minister wrote on Instagram: “Two years in the past, in January 2022, I had the honour of being granted a quick Audience with His Holiness Pope Francis during a piece go to to Vatican City.

“During our transient however illuminating chat, we spoke about points which struck a deep mutual curiosity: the significance of concord, social cohesion and multi-religiosity in a group.

“His Holiness welcomed us, the Singapore delegation, with honest heat and kindness. We additionally spoke briefly about having a chance for Singapore to host His Holiness for a go to.”

Expressing happiness in his put up that the current pontiff’s go to to Singapore would lastly happen, Tong continued: “It has been 38 years for the reason that late Pope John Paul II visited us in November 1986, kissing the bottom upon his arrival at Changi. Then, 70,000 individuals thronged the nationwide stadium to attend mass celebrated by the Pope, the primary Catholic Pope to go to Singapore.

“Pope Francis’s go to will likely be a historic go to that Catholics in Singapore will likely be eagerly trying ahead to.

“The Catholic group in Singapore has made robust contributions to strengthening our social cloth as a multicultural and various society. His Holiness’ teachings in his third Encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, promote a common aspiration towards fraternity and social friendship, themes which resonate drastically with our multicultural and religiously various [society] in Singapore.

“I look ahead to exhibiting Pope Francis our Singaporean hospitality, variety and concord, come September. We will work intently with the Church to plan a significant go to.”