Pope Francis arrives in Indonesia to begin ambitious Asia-Pacific tour

Pope Francis embarks on Asia-Pacific tour, urging climate action, starting in Indonesia, with stops in East Timor, Singapore, Papua New Guinea.

Pope Francis arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday (September 3, 2024) for the first leg of an ambitious Asia-Pacific tour where he is expected to urge global action on climate change during what will be his longest trip yet.

The 87-year-old pontiff landed at Jakarta's Soekarno–Hatta airport on a chartered ITA Airways flight also carrying his entourage and accompanying reporters.

Pope Francis will also visit East Timor, Singapore and Papua New Guinea over the next 10 days.

Sitting in a wheelchair, he disembarked from the plane via a lift and was handed a bouquet of local produce by two children dressed in traditional Indonesian attire.

On a red carpet flanked by honour guards, he was greeted by Indonesia's religious affairs minister, its ambassador to the Vatican and several of the country's bishops, before entering a waiting car, waving and smiling as it drove away.

The ageing pope was not scheduled to attend any public events on Tuesday to allow time for him to rest after a 13-hour overnight flight from Rome.

His first official event will come on Wednesday, when he is due to address Indonesia's political leaders. On Thursday, Francis will take part in an inter-religious meeting at Istiqlal Mosque, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia.