Vatican. Pope Francis yesterday concluded what was supposed to be a tough test of his pontificate: the longest international trip, 12 days in which he traveled to four countries – Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore – and which despite his 87 years and his mobility problems he overcame without problems in good shape.
The 32,000-kilometre journey, the four time changes and seven flights, which he made by car and popemobile, did not seem to have affected the pontiff, who said goodbye to Singapore on Friday with a visit to a home for the elderly and a meeting with young people, where he once again showed his good humour.
It is true that, compared to other trips, the pace of events has been slowed down and he has been allowed to rest from one country to the next with a few free hours upon arrival.
But the Argentine pontiff, who due to knee pain has to move around in a wheelchair, has not given up anything, including the exhausting 40-minute rides in the popemobile among the faithful at masses he has celebrated and also battling the heat and humidity of these countries.
He spent more than 40 minutes walking around the huge Taci Tolu esplanade in Dili in intense humidity and heat, even though he waited until dusk to greet the faithful at the end of the mass, which was attended by some 600,000 people, almost half the population of East Timor.
“The Pope is renewed by the affection of the people. He did not expect all these people to come his way, as has been seen in countries like East Timor, and that gives him strength,” explains one of the members of the Vatican delegation.
And he recounts the Pope’s great satisfaction at having been able to go to Vánimo, a remote town in Papua New Guinea, after having travelled another two hours by plane, to visit the Argentine missionaries who work there among the poorest in one of the poorest countries in the world.
Francis, a great lover of Asia, following in the footsteps of the Jesuits to which he belongs, also wanted to show that this continent is the hope for the Catholic Church, which is losing followers in secularized Europe while evangelical churches are making headway in Latin America.
East Timor is considered the most Catholic country in the world – not counting the Vatican, with 95% of the population and it has proven it.
Belgium and Luxembourg, next stops
Even in Singapore, a multi-religious country where around 43% of the more than five million inhabitants are Buddhist, around 20% are Christian, and 14% are Muslim, the Catholic Church currently has 176,000 members, but it is the only one that is growing every year, they say. The Pope will get back on a plane in 15 days to travel to Belgium and Luxembourg, although no other travel plans are known at the moment.
