Pope Francis arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday, marking the beginning of his longest international journey to date. Over the next 12 days, the 87-year-old pontiff will travel to four countries across Southeast Asia and Oceania.
The trip, which started with a special flight from Rome operated by ITA Airways, will include stops in Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore. Indonesia, with its population of over 240 million Muslims, is the largest Muslim-majority country in the world. The pope’s visit aims to promote peaceful coexistence among different religions.
Of the countries on his itinerary, East Timor is the only one where the majority of the population is Catholic. Due to his age and health, Pope Francis, who frequently uses a wheelchair, has been spacing out his international travels. His last major trip was to Mongolia a year ago.
This journey will see the pope covering more than 30,000 kilometers by plane and is scheduled to return to Rome on September 13. Following this trip, he is set to visit Luxembourg and Belgium later in the month.
