TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Picture of Indonesian Muslim woman shaking hands with Pope Francis goes viral
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Dewi Praswida, a 23-year-old student from Indonesia, shakes hands with Pope Francis on June 26. Dewi has become an internet sensation after the picture went viral. (Facebook/Dewi Praswida)
A picture of a Muslim woman from Indonesia shaking hands with Pope Francis has gone viral on the internet.
The woman in question, Dewi Praswida, is a 23-year-old student who was visiting the Vatican to take part in an interfaith dialog fellowship. Dewi got the opportunity to shake hands with Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on June 26. At that time, Dewi introduced herself as a Muslim from Indonesia.
Her post gained attention after political observer Fadjroel Rachman posted the picture on his Instagram account (@fadjroelrachman) on Sunday. The picture, which had gained over 11 thousand likes by Wednesday, has been reshared by multiple social media accounts and news outlets ever since.
According to Dewi, she was the only one who had the opportunity to shake hands with the Pope at that moment.
“I was the only one who shook hands with the Pope at that time. I introduced myself to him, and asked him to pray for me as well for world peace,” Dewi said as quoted by Kompas.com on Tuesday.
Dewi added that it was her second time meeting with the Pope. A similar interaction also happened in March 2018, when she attended a youth pre-synod meeting in the Vatican.
“No one documented our interaction at that time,” Dewi said. (dpk)
