Pope in the Far East

Pope Francis just ended his longest trip outside the Vatican, that saw him visiting Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore. During his 12 day-voyage he met the predominantly Muslim nation of Indonesia, the poverty-stricken, crime-ridden and indigenous people of Papua New Guinea, the poor and exuberant, mostly Catholic nation of Timor-Leste and the ultra-modern and affluent city-state of Singapore. Francis’s trip to Asia and Oceania – the longest and farthest, and by far the most arduous, of his 11-year papacy – has in many ways been a contrast in global realities, an example of the sharp disparity between the developed and developing nations. The trip, in essence, has been a microcosm of Francis’s entire papacy and the spirit of poverty, unity, dialogue and fraternity that he has sought to grow in the Church – and in the world. As he himself has described it, the trip has largely been a voyage “to the peripheries.” From the moment he arrived until his departure, especially in Timor-Leste, Francis was greeted by massive crowds that lined either side of the street wherever he and his entourage drove, as they waved, cheered and held up signs asking for blessings or telling the Pope that they loved him. Many admired his resilience and strength, as the almost 88-year old Pontiff moved around in a wheelchair, but always with a smile, and a strong voice in the many speeches he had to deliver.