Pope Francis to set off on 12-day Asia-Pacific tour
Vatican City, Sept. 2 (Hibya) - Pope Francis will embark on the longest, farthest and perhaps most challenging trip of his papacy as he begins a 12-day Asia-Pacific tour that is expected to highlight environmental threats, emphasize interfaith dialogue and reinforce the importance of Asia to the Catholic Church, The Guardian reports.
On Monday, the 87-year-old pope will travel more than 20,000 miles by air on a tour of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore.
The visit, originally planned for 2020 but postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, is seen as a reference to the importance of Asia, one of the few places where the church has grown in terms of baptized believers and religious missions.
Francis' first stop will be Indonesia, the country with the world's largest Muslim population.
He will visit Jakarta's main mosque and is expected to tour the underground “Tunnel of Friendship” built-in 2020 as a symbol of religious harmony, connecting the mosque to the country's Catholic cathedral.
Albania News Agency
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