The Holy See officially announced the long trip that will cover Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. Card Goh, from the city-state where a large part of the population has Chinese roots, expressed his hope that the visit “will bring renewed fervor in these very difficult times.” It is the first visit by a pontiff to Catholic Dili after independence. Card Do Carmo da Silva: “he comes to confirm us in faith and love.”
Vatican City () – Pope Francis will make the long trip to Asia and Oceania at the end of summer. After the first news leaked in January by the government of Papua New Guinea and the announcement made a few days ago by the bishops of Indonesia, the director of the Vatican press office, Matteo Bruni, confirmed the trip in an official statement, indicating in detail all dates and stages. “Welcoming the invitation of the respective Heads of State and ecclesiastical authorities – says the note – Pope Francis will make an Apostolic Journey to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore from September 2 to 13, visiting Jakarta from September 3 to September 6, Port Moresby and Vanimo from September 6 to 9, Dili from September 9 to 11 and Singapore from September 11 to 13.” As usual, the detailed program for each of these stages will be published closer to the date.
This long and demanding 12-day itinerary – confirmed despite the health problems that have re-emerged in recent months – proves once again the great attention that Pope Francis devotes to Asia. Three of the countries he will visit – Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and East Timor – coincide with the visit that the pontiff was supposed to make in 2020 but he was forced to cancel due to the pandemic. Now Singapore is also added, a great crossroads of Southeast Asia and – as happened with Mongolia last year – a privileged place to talk with the Chinese people and culture, given that three quarters of the population are ethnic Chinese. However, Vietnam is left out, which in recent months was expected to be included, given the progress in relations between Hanoi and the Holy See and the great desire of Vietnamese Catholics to receive the visit of the pontiff. But Pope Francis' trip will already be extremely demanding, and the sudden departure of President Vo Vhan Tuong, who in December had extended an official invitation to the Pontiff, has probably also had an influence. However, as demonstrated in these hours by the visit to Vietnam of Bishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States, the door for a Pope's trip remains open and it is likely that it has simply been postponed.
The official confirmation of the trip was reproduced today by the Churches that the pontiff will visit. The Archdiocese of Singapore has already launched a website dedicated to the event. In a note, Archbishop William Goh, whom Pope Francis himself wanted to incorporate into the College of Cardinals, recalls the only precedent for a Pope's visit to Singapore: “38 years have passed – he says – since the last visit of the Vicar of Christ to Singapore, when Pope John Paul II honored us with a visit on November 20, 1986. I hope that this visit will bring renewed fervor to all Catholics in Singapore, uniting them in faith and mission, especially in these times so difficult”. The archdiocese also anticipated that – along with official commitments – the highlight of Pope Francis' visit to the Southeast Asian city-state will be a great Eucharistic celebration that should be celebrated on September 12.
In Dili, capital of East Timor, the episcopal conference also made the official announcement today with a press conference in which Card. Virgilio do Carmo da Silva and the apostolic nuncio Mons. Marco Sprizzi. It will be a very important moment for this country – the only one along with the Philippines with a Catholic majority in Asia – which only obtained its independence in 2002, after so much blood and suffering. John Paul II had already stopped in Dili in 1989, but East Timor was still a province of Indonesia that claimed its independence. The Archbishop of Dili expressed the joy of the local Church and the hope that “all the Timorese people will have the opportunity to participate in the meeting with the Pope, who comes first of all to confirm us in the faith and love of Christ.” “Let us prepare to receive the Holy Father – added the secretary of the Episcopal Conference of East Timor, Fr. Carlos Miguel Pereira – praying that this visit will be a moment to revitalize our participation in the construction of our ecclesial and civil community, living our faith and purifying our culture.
