Port Moresby, Sep 6 (EFE).- Pope Francis arrived in Papua New Guinea on Friday from Indonesia, the second leg of his longest and most important trip. first time in Oceania, to bring their closeness to Catholics, 25% of the population, in a country that is among the poorest in the world and hardest hit by the effects of climate change.
The pontiff landed at 7:10 p.m. (09:10 GMT) at Port Moresby airport, the only urban center in the country where 80% of the population lives in rural areas.
After a six-hour flight, Francis was greeted with a simple welcome ceremony at the airport and will spend the rest of the day resting.
Official agenda
The official agenda will begin tomorrow, Saturday, with a meeting with the Governor General, Bob Dadae, and a speech to the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps. In the afternoon, at 5:00 p.m., he will visit the children of “Streete Ministry” and “Callan Services” at the Caritas technical secondary school, followed by a meeting with the clergy of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands at the shrine of Mary Help of Christians.
On Sunday, September 8, at 8:45 a.m. he will celebrate a mass at the Sir John Guise stadium and in the afternoon he will travel to Vanimo, a two-hour flight away, a town in the jungle where he will meet with the faithful in front of the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.
On Monday, after meeting with young people at the Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby, Pope Francis will leave Papua New Guinea for Dili, the capital of East Timor.
This is his longest journey: from 2 to 13 September, 32,814 kilometres, 44 hours of flight and four countries: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. A test of strength at almost 88 years old and with his mobility problems that force him to use a wheelchair.
