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Followers of different faiths flock to Tunnel of Friendship after Pope's visit
Pope Francis praised Indonesia for bringing into life a sense of friendship among different religious groups with the tunnel.
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The Jakarta Cathedral is seen on Aug. 30, 2024, from the Istiqlal Mosque, which will host Pope Francis during his upcoming visit in Jakarta. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
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s a devout Catholic adherent, Louisa has come regularly to the Jakarta Cathedral to attend Mass, including on Sept. 6 when the house of worship hosted a joint Mass for the first Friday of the month.
But, instead of only visiting the cathedral, something “out of the ordinary” occurred that Friday afternoon as the Cempaka Putih resident in Central Jakarta for the first time stepped into the Istiqlal Mosque complex located just across the street.
The 68-year-old was excited to learn about the presence of the Tunnel of Friendship connecting both holy places from Pope Francis' earlier visit to the site on Thursday.
Although the facility has yet to open to the public, Louisa wanted to take a closer look at the symbol of interfaith harmony and capture the special moment in some photographs.
“There is also a tunnel entrance in front of the Cathedral, but it doesn’t bear the tunnel’s sign, so I took the photos here. Istiqlal Grand Imam [Nasaruddin Umar] said previously that the mosque is open to the public, so we are allowed to enter,” she said.
Louisa and her friend cheerfully took some photos in front of the tunnel’s entrance before heading back to the cathedral to attend Mass.
Read also: Pope praises Istiqlal, 'tunnel of friendship' as symbols of interfaith harmony
