Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer from his window, at the Vatican
SINGAPORE / VATICAN CITY (AFP): Pope Francis faces a packed schedule when he heads to Indonesia, Singapore and the islands of Papua New Guinea and East Timor in September, including presiding over three stadium masses.
The trip from September 2 to 13 -- the longest the 87-year-old pope will ever have been away from Rome during his 11-year papacy -- promises to be physically gruelling, and comes despite Francis cutting back on international travel.
It will be his first trip abroad since September last year when he visited Marseille.
According to an official schedule published by the Vatican on Friday, the Asia voyage will include 16 speeches and three masses held in stadiums in the capital cities of Jakarta, Singapore and Papua New Guinea's Port Moresby.
In Indonesia, home to the world's largest Muslim population, the pope will participate in an interreligious meeting at the Istiqlal Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the world.
In Papua New Guinea, he will meet street children and make a day trip to Vanimo in the country's north, where he will meet with Catholic missionaries.
Francis had been due to take the trip in September 2020 but it was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
With Francis due to travel more than 30,000 kilometres (18,600 miles) on his trip, he will have his first day free to relax after flying 13 hours from Rome to Jakarta.
The pontiff, who uses a wheelchair, has suffered increasing health problems in recent years, from knee pain to surgeries for a hernia and on his colon.
Despite his strong work ethic and willingness to travel, he has recently been forced to make concessions to his age and health, including cancelling a trip last year to UN climate talks in Dubai.
To date, Francis has made 44 trips abroad. - AFP
