
Pope Francis landed in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, for a historic trip to the Asia Pacific region. He is set to visit four countries, only one of which has Catholic as the primary religion.
The Roman pontiff is traveling with the motto of “Faith, Fraternity, Compassion.” His 12-day trip will begin with a three-night stay in Jakarta, which will host a meeting with the Istiqlal Mosque. His visit to Indonesia will also include a Mass offered for Catholics in the country.
Indonesian Catholics only comprise 3% of the religions practiced in the country which is dominated by Muslims. That percentage amounts to about eight million Catholics in the 280-count population of the country.
Speaking to a Vatican news outlet, Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, who serves in Jakarta, said that people from different faiths—including Catholics and Muslims—marry frequently in the country. However, this is not commonplace in other countries that are predominately Muslim.
The Indonesian cardinal added that, in his country, it is not uncommon for men with at least one parent who is Muslim or Buddhist to become a priest.
Pope Francis is also set to visit Singapore, Papua New Guinea, and Timor-Leste on his trip, the latter being the only one on his agenda to have a Catholic majority. Indonesia—which has the largest global population of Muslims—has only been visited by two other popes. In an announcement posted to X on Monday September 2, Pope Francis asked for prayers that his “journey may bear fruit.”
The trip is in line with his long-standing theme of bringing the message of God to those who are far from the Church both physically and spiritually. Pope Francis has routinely acted in accordance with this motivation since his election over a decade ago, in 2013.
Some aspects of his current trip—first scheduled in 2020 but had been postponed thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic—will imitate Pope St. John Paul II. The popular Polish pontiff visited the same four countries while he served the Church for 27 years.