Pope Francis greeting Roman Catholics at Jurassic Mile on Sept 11. - ST
SINGAPORE: Pope Francis, the head of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, has arrived in Singapore, the final stop of his tour of Asia.
The chartered plane carrying the 87-year-old leader left Dili airport in Timor-Leste at about 11.20am Singapore time, and landed here at 2.50pm.
His arrival in Singapore marks the first visit by a pontiff to the Republic since 1986, when the late Pope John Paul II made a five-hour stopover.
At 2.30pm, about 1,000 Roman Catholics were waiting along Jurassic Mile at Changi Airport to greet the Pope when he arrived. Many were dressed in the yellow and white of the Vatican flag and carried mini Singapore flags.
More than 30 welcome banners lined the Changi Airport Connector that led from the airport’s VIP complex to Jurassic Mile.
The procession, which began at about 3.25pm, saw the crowd wave and reach out for the Pope as the buggy he was on ambled down the 1km-long pathway. Many chanted “Viva, viva, Papa Francesco”, wishing the 87-year-old Argentinian Pope well.
After the procession along Jurassic Mile, the Pope would meet members of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits – a Roman Catholic order – at the St Francis Xavier Retreat Centre in Punggol.
Roman Catholics waiting to greet Pope Francis at Jurassic Mile on Sept 11. - ST
The Pope was welcomed at the airport by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong and his wife; and Singapore’s non-resident ambassador to the Vatican Janet Ang and her husband.
Representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore, led by Archbishop William Goh, were also present to receive the pontiff, and the dignitaries watched a dance item put up by children dressed in the traditional garb of Singapore’s ethnicities.
Pope Francis’ tour of Asia, which started on Sept 2, has also taken him to Papua New Guinea and Indonesia and is his longest trip yet.
On Sept 12, he will call on President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at Parliament House and meet Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong.
The pontiff will then give a speech at the National University of Singapore’s University Cultural Centre, before celebrating mass at the National Stadium for some 50,000 Roman Catholics.
His itinerary on Sept 13 includes an inter-religious dialogue with young people, before a trip back to Rome.
Travelling with the Pope are the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle; Substitute for the Secretariat of State, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra; Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Gallagher; and other senior Vatican officials. - The Straits Times/ANN
