JAKARTA – Pope Francis arrived in Muslim-majority Indonesia on Sept 3 to kick off a four-nation tour of the Asia-Pacific that will be the longest and farthest of the 87-year-old’s papacy.

The head of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics touched down in Jakarta for a three-day visit devoted to inter-religious ties. He will then travel to Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.

The 12-day tour will test the pontiff’s increasingly fragile health, but he is often energised by being among his flock. He emerged from the 13-hour flight smiling and waving.

“I thank you for coming on this journey, thank you for the company. I think it is the longest one (flight) I have done,” he told reporters aboard his chartered plane after landing, according to an AFP journalist.

He disembarked in Jakarta in a wheelchair to an honour guard, greetings by Indonesian officials, including Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, and a traditional bouquet from two children.

The pontiff was then picked up from the red carpet in a civilian Toyota car, choosing a modest vehicle over one of luxury typically used by world leaders. He smiled and waved as he left for the Vatican’s diplomatic mission in Jakarta.

The Pope was due to have a relaxing day in Jakarta on Sept 3 following the long flight from Rome, then meet President Joko Widodo the following day in the first major set piece of his visit to the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country.

Catholics represent less than 3 per cent of the population of Indonesia – about eight million people – compared with the 87 per cent, or 242 million, who are Muslim.

But theirs is one of six officially recognised religions or denominations in the secular nation, including Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism.

On Sept 5, Pope Francis will meet representatives of all six at Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in South-east Asia and a symbol of religious co-existence.

It is linked via a “tunnel of friendship” to the cathedral across the road where Christians in recent days have been taking selfies with a life-sized cutout of the Pope.

He will then host a mass and deliver a sermon at Indonesia’s 80,000-seater national football stadium.

Joint declaration

Despite Indonesia’s official recognition of different faiths, there are concerns about growing discrimination, including against Christians, with local Catholics hoping the Pope will speak out.

But Dr Michel Chambon, a theologian and anthropologist at the National University of Singapore, said the Pope would press a wider message he had already delivered in other Muslim-majority countries, from Iraq to Bahrain, Turkey and Morocco.

The visit “is not really aimed at Catholics in Indonesia” but is intended to highlight the global importance of Islamic-Christian dialogue, he told AFP.

That message was already being felt by some in Jakarta.

“When there’s an event like this, we enjoy it because when it’s our religious events, they (Catholics) also show tolerance to us,” said 34-year-old Ranggi Prathita, a Muslim who has been selling customised Pope T-shirts.

“We all respect each other.”

The country’s Religious Affairs Ministry has also hailed the visit as a symbol of Indonesia’s religious diversity.

At the Istiqlal Mosque, Pope Francis will sign a joint declaration with its grand imam that will focus on “dehumanisation”, notably the spread of violence and conflict, as well as environmental degradation, according to the Indonesian bishops’ conference.

Pope Francis has repeatedly urged the world to do more to combat climate change and mitigate its effects – including rising sea levels, which threaten Jakarta.

Security has been stepped up for the Pope’s visit, with roads around key sites where he is scheduled to visit being re-routed or closed.

Fragile health

His trip to Indonesia is the third by a pope, and the first since Pope John Paul II in 1989.

Originally planned for 2020 but postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the visit takes place just three months before he turns 88.

The Argentinian, who now routinely uses a wheelchair to move around, underwent hernia surgery in 2023 and has been plagued by respiratory issues.

He has not travelled abroad since visiting Marseille in France in September 2023, having cancelled a planned address at UN climate talks in Dubai two months later.

His personal doctor and two nurses travelled with him to Indonesia, but Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said this was normal and no extra precautions were in place. AFP