Indonesia's religious affairs minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas walks alongside Pope Francis at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport during the Pope's apostolic visit to Asia, in Tangerang near Jakarta, Indonesia, 3 September 2024;
Credit: Reuters/Willy Kurniawan
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Pope Francis arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday 3 September 2024 for the first leg of an ambitious Asia-Pacific tour where he is expected to urge global action on climate change during what will be his longest trip yet.
The 87-year-old pontiff landed at Jakarta's Soekarno–Hatta airport on a chartered ITA Airways flight also carrying his entourage and accompanying reporters.
Francis will also visit East Timor, Singapore and Papua New Guinea over the next ten days.
Sitting in a wheelchair, Francis disembarked from the plane via a lift and was handed a bouquet of local produce by two children dressed in traditional Indonesian attire.
On a red carpet flanked by honour guards, he was greeted by Indonesia's religious affairs minister, its ambassador to the Vatican and several of the country's bishops, before entering a waiting car, waving and smiling as it drove away.
The ageing pope was not scheduled to attend any public events on Tuesday to allow time for him to rest after a thirteen-hour overnight flight from Rome.
His first official event will come on Wednesday 4 September 2024, when he is due to address Indonesia's political leaders. On Thursday 5 September 2024, Francis will take part in an inter-religious meeting at Istiqlal Mosque, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia.
The Asia-Pacific tour will last twelve days in total and is the longest trip yet by the pontiff, who will have travelled nearly 33,000 km when he arrives back in Rome late evening on 13 September 2024.
The pope, who pushed for the 2015 Paris climate agreement, is expected to continue his appeals to confront the dangers of a warming globe.
Jakarta, the Indonesian capital of at least ten million people, is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, with chronic flooding and sinking land. The government is in the process of building a new capital, Nusantara, on Borneo island.
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, has about 280 million inhabitants, only about 3% of them Catholic.
Ahead of the Pope's arrival, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said his people warmly welcomed Francis on a visit that had been planned long ago but was delayed by the pandemic.
"This is a very historic visit," he told reporters. "Indonesia and the Vatican have a similar commitment to cultivate peace and brotherhood as well as ensure prosperity for the people."
