Indonesia confirms Pope Francis will visit in September

The news is now official after months of waiting and persistent rumors. In a March 31 statement, the Indonesian government announced Pope Francis's planned visit to the country on September 3, citing written correspondence with the Vatican, which has not yet confirmed the information.

Pope Francis’ visit, according to Indonesian authorities, is part of a broader regional tour lasting about ten days, taking him mainly to Papua New Guinea and also to Timor-Leste, the latter along with the Philippines being one of the two predominantly Catholic countries in Southeast Asia.

"I think it will be a special gift for Catholics," said Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, the Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs, March 31, recalling that the outgoing president, Joko Widodo, had sent an invitation to the pope in June 2022. The announcement immediately sparked excitement among the local Church community, which comprises a minority of believers. According to the American research center Pew, 242 million Indonesians or 87% of the population are Muslims, while 29 million are Christians, including nearly 8.5 million Catholics. Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, accounting for 13% of Muslims globally.

Difficulties in obtaining construction permits for new churches, ostracism, and even attacks on worshipers in some regions of the country are some of the challenges Christians face. Lately, the situation of Christians in the archipelago has deteriorated, as society moves towards a more conservative Islam, less tolerant of religious minorities.

Expected to promote a message of openness, Pope Francis would be the third pope to visit the Indonesia, after Paul VI in December 1970 and John Paul II in October 1989.

A special committee should soon be created to facilitate the organization of his one-day visit to Indonesia, whose program has not yet been established. Speaking to UCA News, a media outlet specializing in covering Catholic news in Asia, a source within the Indonesian Bishops' Conference mentioned that the 87-year-old pope, due to his fragile health in recent months, might decide to visit only the capital Jakarta. Some rumors say instead that Francis might visit Kalimantan and Flores, where many Catholics live.

A papal visit to Southeast Asia had been scheduled for September 2020 in Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Indonesia, but had been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last January, the foreign affairs minister of Papua New Guinea announced that the pope would visit in August. A Vatican source then mentioned that the pope could, at that time, travel to East Timor and Indonesia.

Since his election in 2013, Francis has made 44 international trips, with the most recent being to the southern French port city of Marseille in September 2023. For 2024, the pope has already announced a trip to Belgium, and has also spoken about a potential travel endeavor to Argentina.