Pope Francis heads off on his longest tour yet

Pope Francis has embarked connected the longest and farthest travel of his tenure, which volition spot him alert astir 33,000km (20,500 miles) to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore.

It's a peculiarly challenging travel for a antheral who turns 88 successful December and has been battling a spate of wellness issues.

Francis is expected to highlight biology concerns and the value of interfaith dialog during his 11-day trip. Timor-Leste is the lone 1 of the 4 countries that is predominantly Catholic.

He is expected to get successful Jakarta astatine astir 11:30 section clip (04:30 GMT) connected Tuesday, wherever helium volition sojourn the Indonesian capital's main mosque.

Parts of Francis's trip, which was primitively scheduled successful 2020 but postponed owed to the pandemic, volition retrace the steps of St John Paul II, who besides visited the 4 nations during his 27-year pontificate.

"Today I statesman an Apostolic Journey to respective countries successful Asia and Oceania," Francis wrote connected X connected Monday. "Please commune that this travel whitethorn carnivore fruit."

Since his predetermination successful 2013, Francis has urged the Catholic Church to bring God's comfortableness "toward the periphery" - referring to communities who are marginalised oregon acold away.

He is lone the 3rd pope to sojourn Indonesia, which has the largest colonisation of Muslims globally.

During his 4 days there, helium volition conscionable with outgoing president Joko Widodo and clasp a wide for immoderate 70,000 people, according to the Vatican News.

Nasaruddin Umar, the expansive imam astatine the Jakarta mosque Francis volition beryllium visiting, told the AP helium hopes the sojourn volition connection opportunities to "discuss the communal crushed betwixt spiritual communities and emphasise the commonalities betwixt religions, ethnicities, and beliefs".

In Papua New Guinea, Francis volition question to the remote, poverty-wracked metropolis of Vanimo to conscionable with missionaries from his autochthonal Argentina who person been reaching retired to tribal communities.

Miguel de la Calle, an Argentine missionary successful Papua New Guinea's north-westernmost city, said helium hoped the Pope's sojourn would "significantly boost" ongoing evangelisation efforts successful the territory.

People person been travelling from each Papua New Guinea and adjacent crossed the borderline from Indonesia to spot the Pope, helium told Vatican News.

"Some person been walking for days owed to the scarcity of transportation," Father Miguel said.

In Timor-Leste, Francis volition officiate wide successful the superior Dili, connected the aforesaid seaside esplanade wherever John Paul II spoke successful 1989 to comfortableness section Catholics who suffered nether Indonesia's concern of the territory. Timor-Leste gained independency successful 2002.

The sheen of Francis's sojourn to the state has dimmed successful caller days, however, pursuing revelations that hundreds of homes successful the country were bulldozed. Nearly 90 residents were told to find determination caller to unrecorded earlier helium arrives.

Francis volition wrapper up his travel successful Singapore, wherever three-quarters of the colonisation are ethnically Chinese and Mandarin is 1 of 4 authoritative languages. This sojourn is wide seen arsenic an effort to amended ties with China.

No pope has been capable to sojourn China to date, arsenic relations betwixt the Vatican and the Chinese Communist Party person been strained by disputes implicit who tin name bishops successful the country.

Both sides are believed to person reached a woody connected this successful 2018, which gives the Vatican a accidental connected specified appointments.

During his trip, Francis volition beryllium accompanied by a doc and 2 nurses. Concerns person been raised implicit the interaction of specified an ambitious itinerary connected his ailing health.

Francis, who has had portion of 1 lung removed successful his younger days, had been struggling with respiratory and mobility problems of precocious - immoderate of which person led him to miss his play Sunday blessings.

In November past year, helium cancelled his travel to Dubai for the yearly United Nations clime gathering due to the fact that of a lung inflammation.