The director of the Vatican Press Office, Matteo Bruni, explains to the media the Pope’s apostolic trip from 2 to 13 September to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore, the longest of his pontificate: “There is no concern for the Pope’s health.”
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Indonesia
The following day, Tuesday 3, the Pontiff is scheduled to land at Jakarta’s “Soekarno-Hatta” International Airport at 11:30 a.m. and then the official welcome will take place.
On Wednesday 4 at 9:30 a.m. there will be a welcoming ceremony outside the “Istana Merdeka” Presidential Palace. The Pope will then pay a courtesy visit to President Joko Widodo at 10:00, and then at 10:35 he will meet with the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps in the “Istana Negara” Hall of the Presidential Palace, where he will deliver his first speech. He will then meet privately with members of the Society of Jesus at the Apostolic Nunciature at 11:30. In the afternoon, at 16:30, the Pontiff will have his meeting with bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons, seminarians and catechists at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption. There he will deliver his second speech. The second day will conclude with a meeting with the young people of Scholas Occurrentes at the “Grha Pemuda” Youth House.
On his third day in Indonesia, on Thursday 5th, there will be an interfaith meeting at the “Istiqlal” mosque at 9:00 and the Pope will give a speech. He will also meet with people assisted by charitable organizations at the headquarters of the Indonesian Episcopal Conference at 10:15. The Holy Father will also preside over the Holy Mass at the “Gelora Bung Karno” stadium and will deliver the homily at the ceremony.
Papua New Guinea
On Friday 6th, at 9:15 a.m., the farewell ceremony will take place at the Jakarta “Soekarno-Hatta” International Airport, and he will take off for Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea, at 9:45 a.m. His arrival is scheduled for 6:50 p.m. and he will be welcomed. This will be the second country that the Pope will visit on this apostolic trip.
On Saturday 7, the Pope will visit Governor General Robert Dadae at Government House at 9:45. At 10:25, Francis will lead the meeting with the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps at the APEC Haus conference center, where he will deliver his speech. In the afternoon, at 17:00, he will visit the children of Street Ministry and Callan Services at the Caritas technical secondary school. Then, the Bishop of Rome will meet the bishops of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, as well as priests, deacons, consecrated persons, seminarians and catechists at the shrine of Mary Help of Christians. On this occasion, the Holy Father will deliver a speech.
On Sunday 8 September, the Pope will receive the Prime Minister, the Hon James Marape, at the Apostolic Nunciature at 7:30 and then, at 8:45, he will preside over the Holy Mass at the Sir John Guise State, where he will deliver the homily and recite the Marian prayer of the Angelus. He will then depart by plane at 13:00 from Jacksons International Airport in Port Moresby for Vanimo, the capital of the province of Sandaun in the northwest of Papua New Guinea. He will arrive in the city at around 15:15 and will meet, at 15:30, with the faithful of the diocese of Vanimo on the esplanade in front of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, where he will address them. Later, at 16:50, the Pope will meet privately with a group of missionaries at the Holy Trinity School of Humanities. The Holy Father is scheduled to depart by plane from Vanimo Airport for Port Moresby at 17:40, landing at Jacksons International Airport at 19:55.
East Timor
At 9:45 on Monday 9 September, the Holy Father will meet the youth at the Sir John Guise Stadium, deliver a speech and then travel to Jacksons International Airport in Port Moresby, where the farewell ceremony will take place at 11:10. At 11:40, he will depart from Papua New Guinea for East Timor. This is the third country visited by the Pontiff on this apostolic journey.
The Holy Father will arrive at the President Nicolau Lobato International Airport in Dili, the capital of East Timor, at 14:10. The official welcome will take place there at 14:10. At 18:00, a welcome ceremony will take place outside the Presidential Palace, and at 18:30, a courtesy visit will be made to the President of the Republic, José Ramos-Horta. Afterward, at 19:00, he will meet with the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps in the hall of the Presidential Palace. At this time, the Holy Father will deliver a speech.
On Tuesday 10 September, the Bishop of Rome will visit disabled children at the “Sisters Alma” school at 8:45 a.m. and will then meet with bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons, seminarians and catechists in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The Holy Father will give a speech there. In the morning, at 10:45 a.m., Francis will meet privately with members of the Society of Jesus at the Apostolic Nunciature. In the afternoon, at 4:30 p.m., he will preside over Mass on the Tasitolu esplanade, where he will deliver his homily.
Singapore
In his last hours in East Timor, the Pope will hold a meeting with young people at a convention center at 9:30, where he will give a speech, and at 10:45 he will have the farewell ceremony at the Dili “President Nicolau Lobato” International Airport. He will leave for Singapore, the last country he will visit on this apostolic trip, at 11:15. The Pope will arrive at Singapore’s “Changi” International Airport at 14:15, where the official welcome will take place. Later, he will meet privately with members of the Society of Jesus at the San Francisco Javier retreat center.
On his second day in Singapore, on Thursday 12 September, the welcome ceremony will take place at Parliament House at 9 in the morning. Half an hour later, Francis will visit the President of the Republic, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and will meet with the Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong. At 10:30 a.m., he will meet with the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps at the theater of the University Cultural Centre of the National University of Singapore. On this occasion, Francis will address the attendees. The day will end with the celebration of Holy Mass at 5:15 p.m. at the national stadium of “SportsHub”, where the Pope will deliver the homily.
The last day of Pope Francis in Singapore, Friday 13, will begin at 9:15 a.m. with a visit to a group of elderly and sick people at the Casa Santa Teresa. Later, at 10:00 a.m., he will have an interreligious meeting with young people at the Catholic Junior College and there he will give a speech. At 11:20 a.m. the farewell ceremony will take place at Singapore’s Changi International Airport, taking off for Rome at 11:50 a.m. Her return to the Eternal City, after the long journey, is scheduled for 18:25.
