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Before flying to the neighboring country of Belgium on the afternoon of Sept. 26, the 87-year-old pope spent one day visiting the tiny but wealthy Luxembourg.
Cardinal William Goh, archbishop of Singapore, hailed the positive results of the recently concluded papal visit to his country.
Speaking aboard the papal plane, Pope Francis encouraged U.S. Catholics to vote with their conscience in the upcoming Nov. 5 election.
Pope Francis’ event with young adults was his last stop in East Timor before flying four hours to Singapore for the fourth and final leg of his Sept. 2–13 trip.
“This is what one finds here: love. Without love this cannot be understood. And so we understand the love of Jesus who gave his life for us,” the Holy Father said.
Francis is the first pope to visit East Timor since it gained independence from Indonesia in 2002, becoming the first new sovereign state of the 21st century.
Speaking in Dili's cathedral, Pope Francis challenged East Timor's Catholic leaders to renew evangelization efforts, declaring that the nation's position "at the edge" places it "at the center of the Gospel."
After celebrating Mass in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on Sept. 8, the pope traveled 620 miles by air to Vanimo, a coastal town known for its white sand beaches and good surfing.
Pope Francis celebrated Mass in Papua New Guinea on Sunday, urging openness to God and others while praying for peace in Asia-Pacific region.
Pope Francis called on Catholics in Papua New Guinea to continue to bring the Gospel to the most marginalized and remote communities within the country.
In his address to officials in Port Moresby, Pope Francis called for responsible use of natural resources, an end to tribal conflict, and celebrated Papua New Guinea's cultural diversity.
As Pope Francis arrives in Papua New Guinea, Indonesian police report they detained seven individuals in connection with a foiled attack plot.
Some people even came from the Solomon Islands, about 885 miles to the east in the South Pacific.
“Proclaiming the Gospel … [means] giving and sharing the joy of encountering Christ always with great respect and fraternal affection for everyone,” he said.
On Pope Francis’ first full day of public appearances in Indonesia on Wednesday, the pope called upon the political leaders of the world’s largest Muslim country to protect the country’s delicate balance of many cultures and religions by respecting the human rights of all, including minorities.
Pope Francis arrived Tuesday in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, the first stop in the pope’s four-country tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania. The trip is expected to be the longest and most challenging international voyage of his pontificate to date.
Pope John Paul II visited Papua New Guinea for the first time in May 1984 and paid tribute to the strength of Catholicism on the island.
The pope appealed for peace in Gaza and for humanitarian aid to continue and also expressed his closeness to the people of Burkina Faso after a terrorist attack there on Aug 24.
Pope Francis will embark on an 11-day trip on Sept. 2 that will bring him to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste (East Timor), and Singapore.