‘I’m so happy’: Indonesia prepares for first papal visit since 1989
Al Jazeera
Pope Francis will arrive in mostly Muslim Indonesia on Tuesday on the first part of a tour that will also take him to Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.
Medan, Indonesia – At the Immaculate Conception of Mary Cathedral in the Indonesian city of Medan, the mood at Sunday mass was unusually excited.
Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, is set to begin a two-week tour of Asia Pacific, which will start in Indonesia on Tuesday and take in Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.
Father Joseph Gultom told Al Jazeera that Indonesian Catholics were “very enthusiastic” about Francis’s visit, the first by a pope in more than 30 years.
“Of course, I am so happy,” he said. “The pope is our leader and it is an occasion for people to improve their belief in the Catholic Church and an important symbol of the Catholic faith in Indonesia, which is majority Muslim. It is a significant moment for us.”
Indonesia has a population of more than 270 million people and has six officially recognised religions including Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Confucianism.
