Pope Francis arrived in Papua New Guinea on Friday evening after traveling from Indonesia as part of a comprehensive 12-day tour across Southeast Asia and Oceania.
The Garuda Indonesia plane carrying the Pope and his entourage landed in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, where he will be staying for the next three nights. Upon his arrival, the 87-year-old pontiff, who used a wheelchair to exit the aircraft, was welcomed on the tarmac by Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso and key Catholic Church officials from the region.
Local children greeted him with gifts while a military band performed the Vatican anthem. After a brief reception at the airport, Pope Francis headed to the Vatican embassy for the evening. He is scheduled to deliver his first public address to political leaders on Saturday morning.
During his visit to Papua New Guinea, the Pope will also take a day trip to the town of Vanimo before leaving the country on Monday. His itinerary includes visits to East Timor and Singapore, with a return to Rome expected on September 13.
In Indonesia, Francis emphasized the need for leaders to combat religious extremism in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation. He notably visited Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia, where he signed a joint declaration with the national grand imam. This statement called for “decisive action” from both Catholics and Muslims to encourage global leaders to address the impacts of climate change.
The dangers posed by climate change are likely to be a significant theme during his visit to Papua New Guinea, a country facing numerous natural disasters attributed to environmental changes, including a landslide earlier this year that resulted in over 2,000 fatalities.
Throughout his 11-year papacy, the Pope has consistently highlighted the importance of environmental issues. By the conclusion of this overseas journey, he will have traveled approximately 33,000 kilometers (around 20,500 miles), marking it as one of his longest trips to date.