Pope Francis will visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore in September. The 12-day tour is long desired by the Pontiff, barring last-minute unforeseen events.
Three of the countries he will reach in September he was already due to visit in 2020, but was then forced to cancel the trip due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Singapore is also added to the previous programme, a great crossroads of South-East Asia and - as Mongolia was last year - another privileged place to speak to the Chinese people and culture, with three quarters of its ethnic population Chinese.. Vietnam, however, remains outside and in recent months it had been hoped could be added, given the progress made in relations between Hanoi and the Holy See and the great desire of Vietnamese Catholics to welcome the Pope's visit. The Pontiff will visit Jakarta from 3 to 6 September, Port Moresby and Vanimo from 6 to 9 September, Dili from 9 to 11 September and Singapore from 11th to 13th September.