Pope Francis begins his Apostolic Journey to Papua New Guinea, the second part of his 45th Apostolic Journey abroad. The Pope landed in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea in Oceania. His Indonesia Airlines plane touched down at 19:10 local time on Friday the 6th of September.
Papua New Guinea is 19,047 kilometres away from the Vatican. That’s the furthest Pope Francis has ever travelled!
He will be spending three days in this large but sparsely inhabited nation, which is home to some of the world’s last uncontacted tribes, located on one of the planet’s tectonic plaques. Earthquakes and landslides are almost commonplace while the lack of infrastructure in the more remote areas can pose serious challenges to rescuers and medics if disaster strikes, and even to travellers.
There are about two-and-a-half-million Catholics who inhabit the country, including those in the remote town of Vanimo on the northwest coast where a group of mostly Argentinean missionaries.
One of the local parishes, in the Tokarara neighborhood of Port Moresby, where they are being hosted, and the anticipation and joy are palpable.
His schedule for Papua New Guinea in fact is full of important events, including meetings with government officials, local authorities and diplomats; and with children in street situations and those with disabilities.
He will also pay a visit to the Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, where he will meet with the Bishops of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, and with priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, seminarians and catechists.
On Sunday morning, the Pope will celebrate Holy Mass with the faithful at Sir John Guise Stadium, which has been teeming with activity during these last few days as final preparations are made.
Also on Sunday, he will take a flight to Vanimo, in northwestern Papua New Guinea where he will meet the faithful and a group of missionaries before returning to Port Moresby in the evening.
Pope Francis will conclude the second stage of his Apostolic Journey with a meeting with young people on Monday morning.
Nearly 30 years since a papal visit to Papua New Guinea
It’s a visit that’s long overdue, as the last time a Pontiff travelled to this island country was in 1995, when Saint John Paul II was here for the beatification of Peter To Rot, a Papuan lay catechist who was martyred during the Second World War for teaching the Catholic faith.
Source: Vatican News
As the media manager for the papal visit puts it, the Holy Father’s presence in this country on the peripheries offers a great source of hope for the faithful, a sentiment echoed by many of the Papuan Catholics we’ve met in these days leading up to this historic event.
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