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Pope Francis may lead Mass in Jakarta during September visit to Indonesia
His visit, if it happens, would mark the third time a Catholic pope has come to Indonesia.
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Pope Francis greets the faithful during the weekly general audience at the Vatican on Feb. 26. (Reuters/Remo Casilli)
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ope Francis may preside over a mass at the Gelora Bung Karno main stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta, during his expected visit to Indonesia in September, the Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI) announced.
KWI chairman and Indonesia’s third cardinal, Ignatius Suharyo, said there was a possibility the supreme leader of the world’s Catholic Church would lead a mass at the sport complex, although the schedule was still under discussion.
“There is a possibility. The Vatican team plans to come to Indonesia in late March and the official announcement of the Pope’s schedule and activities will be announced after that,” Suharyo told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Besides leading a mass, Suharyo said the Pope would be expected to visit the Istiqlal Mosque and to meet with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, as well as with bishops, priests and nuns at the Jakarta Cathedral.
The secretary-general of the supreme council of Indonesia’s largest Islamic group Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Yahya Cholil Staquf, revealed last month that Pope Francis planned to visit Indonesia, as well as neighboring Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea, in September.
The Muslim scholar announced the plan following his meeting with Francis in Rome on Jan. 15.
Pope Francis has recently paid successful visits to Thailand and Japan and previously expressed interest in visiting Indonesia this year.
Read also: NU cleric meets Pope Francis, talks 'social activism' in Rome to address interfaith conflicts
The State Palace and the Foreign Ministry both confirmed in late January that upon learning Pope Francis' wishes, Jokowi extended an official invitation to him to visit the archipelago.
Vatican-linked ucanews.com reported on Friday that Francis has fallen sick in Rome, a day after attending Ash Wednesday ceremonies without wearing a mask in an expression of solidarity with those suffering from the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Whether the Pope has been tested for the coronavirus remains unclear.
The pope’s expected visit to Indonesia this year would convey a message of hope and peace for some 7 million Catholics and other religious followers in the world’s largest Muslim-populated country.
Pope Francis had made clear his reformist position against sexual violence in the Catholic Church globally as stated in his apostolic letter Vos Estis Lux Mundi issued in May last year.
His visit, if it happens, would mark the third time a Catholic pope has come to Indonesia.
Pope Paul VI made a short visit to Jakarta in 1970, followed by John Paul II in 1989. During his eight-day visit, John Paul II also visited Timor Leste, at that time known as East Timor since it was still under Indonesia’s administration.
