Tag: Papal Tour

The Royal Australian Air Force’s Squadron Leader Jacob Ralph is well used to prime ministers, government officials and world leaders on his planes, but in September he transported the pope during his tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Before leaving Singapore, the most religiously diverse country on his trip to Asia and the Pacific, Pope Francis urged young people to approach others with courage and friendship.

The true significance of Singapore's soaring skyscrapers, robust economy and high-tech achievements must be found in the stories of love and care that are behind them, Pope Francis said.

On the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary, Pope Francis celebrated Mass alongside an estimated 50,000 people who nearly filled Singapore's National Stadium to capacity.

The last stop of Pope Francis' trip is to one of the most economically powerful countries in the world: Singapore, where Christians make up about 19 per cent of the population.

Pope Francis praised Singapore and its citizens for their hard work and ingenuity, but he urged them to be mindful of the poor and of the migrant workers who do much of the hard labour.

While their parents and grandparents won the independence of Timor-Leste, the country's young adults must take up the task of consolidating democratic institutions and responding to poverty and other social ills, Pope Francis said.

Arriving in Singapore from Timor-Leste, Pope Francis made the biggest transition of his 12-day trip to Asia and the Pacific, moving from one of the world's poorest countries to one of its wealthiest and from one of the most youthful to one of the oldest.

The pope reflected on the Last Judgement while visiting students of the nuns of the Alma congregation, where they welcomed him with traditional music.

An estimated 700,000 people gathered to celebrate an outdoor Mass with Pope Francis on a sprawling esplanade near the Capital City of East Timor, with a choir of hundreds. 

In a predominantly Catholic country where clergy are treated with great respect, they must make extra efforts to remain humble servants of their people, Pope Francis told the priests of Timor-Leste.

Indonesia's National Police Anti-terror group arrested seven people on 2 and 3 September accused of plotting an assassination attempt on Pope Francis during his visit to the country.