Pope Francis, 87, embarked on Monday, September 2, on an ambitious four-nation tour that begins with Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, for a visit dominated by inter-faith ties.
The pontiff left Rome on Monday afternoon and is due to land in Jakarta on Tuesday morning, the first stop in a 12-day voyage that will also take in Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.
Covering some 32,000 kilometers, the tour – the longest and farthest of his 11 years leading the worldwide Catholic Church – will test Francis' increasingly fragile health. But in recent weeks the pontiff has appeared in good spirits, and he is often energized by being among his flock.
Catholics currently represent fewer than 3% of the population of Indonesia – some eight million people, compared to the 87%, or 242 million, who are Muslim. But they are one of six officially recognized religions or denominations in the secular nation, also including Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism.
On Thursday, Francis will meet representatives of all six at Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia and a symbol of religious co-existence. It is linked via a "tunnel of friendship" to the cathedral across the road, where Christians in recent days have been taking selfies with a life-sized cutout of the pope. At the mosque, Pope Francis will sign a joint declaration with the grand imam, Nasaruddin Umar.
The statement will focus on "dehumanization", notably the spread of violence and conflict, particularly to women and children, as well as environmental degradation, according to the Indonesian bishops' conference.
Francis has repeatedly urged the world to do more to combat climate change and mitigate its effects – including rising sea levels, which threaten the heavily polluted megalopolis of Jakarta. Security is tight for the three-day visit, with the military, police and members of the president's own detail among more than 4,000 law enforcement officers deployed.
A new billboard advert declaring "Welcome Pope Francis" has been put up in central Jakarta, while the government has ordered a special stamp in his honor. It is the third papal visit to Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,500 islands, after Paul VI in 1970 and John Paul II in 1989.
The independent Jakarta Post newspaper hailed the visit in an editorial Monday as "highly significant for the advancement of interreligious relations" both in Indonesia and abroad. Despite Indonesia's official recognition of different faiths, there are concerns about growing discrimination, including against Christians, with local Catholics hoping the pope will speak out.
Francis will meet outgoing President Joko Widodo during his visit and hold meetings with young people, diplomats and local clergy. He will also preside over a mass in a 80,000-seat stadium, one of several such events during the tour, the 45th overseas trip of his papacy.
Originally planned for 2020 but postponed due to the Covid pandemic, the visit takes place just three months before his 88th birthday.
The Argentine now routinely uses a wheelchair to move around, underwent hernia surgery last year and has been plagued by respiratory issues. He has not traveled abroad since visiting Marseille in France in September 2023, having canceled a planned address at United Nations climate talks in Dubai two months later.
He will be traveling to Indonesia with his personal doctor and two nurses, but Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said this is normal, saying no extra precautions were in place.