He Pope Francisco will visit Indonesia in September, the country’s Minister of Religious Affairs announced. In June 2022, outgoing President Joko Widodo invited the 87-year-old pope to visit Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, as part of an effort to promote religious tolerance.
”After waiting two years, Pope Francis is finally coming to Indonesia. I think it will be a special gift for Catholics,” Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said at an event in Central Java province on Saturday.
”According to the letter sent by the Vatican received by the Indonesian government, Pope Francis will be in Indonesia on September 3, 2024,” said Qoumas, quoted on the ministry’s website. ”It will be an honor for Indonesia,” he added.
According to the Pew Research Center, Indonesia has 242 million Muslims and about 29 million Christians, 8.5 million of whom are Catholic.
Pope Francis is also scheduled to visit Papua New Guinea in August, that country’s Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko said in January.
A Vatican source assured that the pope plans to visit East Timor that same month.
Since his election in 2013, the pope has made 44 trips abroad. The Vatican said he plans to visit Belgium later this year and the pope himself has spoken of a possible trip to his native Argentina.
The pope’s health continues to be a concern and last Good Friday he canceled his participation in the traditional Stations of the Cross at the last minute.
Source: Gestion
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