Pope Francis to visit several Southeast Asian countries

It will be Pope Francis' longest trip since he became head of the Vatican 11 years ago, according to Reuters.

According to the specific schedule of the trip, Pope Francis will be in Jakarta (Indonesia) from September 3-6, followed by Port Moresby and Vanimo (Papua New Guinea) from September 6-9, Dili (East Timor) from September 9-11 and finally Singapore from September 11-13.

East Timor and the Philippines are both predominantly Catholic, while Indonesia has 8 million Catholics, or about 3% of the population. In Singapore, about 7% of people aged 15 and over are Catholic, while in Papua New Guinea, about 26% of the population are Catholic.

Also this year, Pope Francis is expected to visit Italian cities such as Venice (April 28), Verona (May 18) and Trieste (July 7), along with a visit to Belgium, but the specific date has not been set.

A trip to Asia is said to be a priority for Pope Francis, 88, but there have been concerns about whether it will be possible due to the health problems of the head of the Vatican. In recent months, Pope Francis has suffered from several colds and bronchitis and needs a wheelchair or a cane because of knee pain.

The Pope's last foreign trip was a two-day visit to Marseille, France, in September 2023. In November of the same year, the Pope had to cancel his trip to Dubai, UAE, to attend the COP28 climate change conference due to pneumonia. Pope Francis' trip to Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Indonesia was scheduled for September 2020 but was eventually canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.