Pope Francis will visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore from September 2 to 13, the Vatican announced this Friday, in what will be his longest trip since his election as supreme pontiff in 2013.
For the 87-year-old Argentine pontiff, it will be the first trip abroad in a year, and quite a challenge given his numerous health problems in recent months, which forced him to cancel several commitments.
Francis will begin his 30,000-kilometer journey in Jakarta, from June 3 to 6. Then he will go to Papua and then to Dili, capital of East Timor, and Singapore, the director of the Holy See press service, Matteo Bruni, announced in a statement.
The announcement comes days after the pope's health was again a cause for concern. And on Good Friday, this past March 29, he had to cancel his participation in the Stations of the Cross at the last minute. On Palm Sunday he was also not able to deliver the planned homily.
In recent years, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who has been using a wheelchair for two years, has had numerous health problems, particularly in his knees, hips and colon, as well as breathing difficulties.
The tour is announced as ambitious for the head of the Catholic Church, since it involves more than 30 hours of flight, an eight-hour jet lag and a series of meetings and masses.
Indonesia, which is home to the largest Muslim population in the world, estimated in a statement on Friday that this visit is of "significant importance (...) not only for Catholics, but also for all religious communities."
East Timor, a former Portuguese colony and later occupied by Indonesia (1975-1999), also has a majority Catholic population.
The pontiff has also expressed his desire to visit Argentina, where he has not gone since his election as pope eleven years ago, although the Vatican has not confirmed it nor has a date been defined.
Francis also plans three trips soon within Italy, the first of which will be to Venice on April 28.
Since his election in 2013, the pope has already made 44 trips abroad, the last of which was to Marseille, in the south of France, last September.
Despite a major abdominal operation in 2023, the pope continues to work at a very demanding pace in the Vatican, where he sometimes receives ten people in a single morning.
In December, bronchitis forced him to cancel his trip to Dubai for COP28, the major annual climate summit organized by the United Nations.
With information from AFP