SINGAPORE, Sept 11 (Askume) – Pope Francis arrived in Singapore on Wednesday afternoon from East Timor, where he will focus on interreligious dialogue and strengthening the Catholic Church’s minority status in the region.
The Pope is on the final leg of an ambitious 12-day trip to Southeast Asia and Oceania , the longest of his papal tenure. He will address political officials during his two-night stay in the global financial capital city-state, where the Pope is also expected to address issues such as wealth inequality and climate change.
Francis will also celebrate a solemn mass, which the Vatican expects to be attended by about 55,000 people, including Hong Kong Catholics.
The Vatican is currently in talks with ChinaRenegotiation of a controversial agreement on the appointment of Catholic bishops , which will be renewed in October.
Singapore has a population of 5.92 million and is home to a large number of Buddhists. About 31% of the people here follow Buddhism. According to the Vatican, there are about 210,000 Catholics in the country. There are also large Muslim, Hindu and Taoist communities here.
Interreligious dialogue has been a central theme in Francis’ 11 years as pope and he will host an interfaith meeting with young people from different religious traditions in Singapore. Wealth inequality and climate change are other common themes.
Singapore’s government says rising sea levels caused by global warming could seriously impact its low-lying coastal areas and plans to spend 100 billion Singapore dollars ($77 billion) on the effort this century.
While in the country, the Pope will also hold private meetings with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and former Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Francis is the second pope to visit Singapore, the late John Paul II stayed for five hours in 1986. There are about 210,000 Catholics in the country of 5.92 million people, according to Vatican figures.
The pope arrived in Dili, the capital of East Timor, and on Tuesday led a mass rally attended by about 600,000 of the country’s 1.3 million people, the highest proportion of the country’s population attended during a papal visit .
Upon his arrival in Singapore, Pope Francis was greeted by Minister of Culture, Community and Youth Don Edwin and was presented with flowers by local schoolchildren. According to local media reports, about 1,000 Catholics were praying outside the airport and waving Singapore and Vatican flags.
The pope has a light schedule for the rest of Wednesday, with only a private meeting planned with the country’s Jesuit clergy. There will be meetings with political leaders and a mass on Thursday before he returns to Rome on Friday.
Francis’ 12-day trip also includes visits to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
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