Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D. Bishop | Archdiocese of Louisville

By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

ROME — Traveling on an ITA Airways plane, Pope Francis set off on the longest foreign trip of his papacy. The plane carrying the pope, top Vatican officials, and about 75 journalists took off from Rome’s Fiumicino airport on September 2 on what was scheduled to be a 13-hour flight to Jakarta, Indonesia, the first stop on the pope’s four-nation apostolic visit.

The 87-year-old pope was expected to cover more than 20,000 miles during his visit from September 2-13 to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization and a member of the papal entourage, told Fides that the pope is not trying to set a record or prove a point about his stamina. Rather, he said subjecting himself to the rigors of such a long trip “is an act of humility before the Lord who calls us — an act of humility and obedience to the mission.”

Pope Francis “wants to encourage Catholics in all the contexts in which they find themselves,” Cardinal Tagle said in an interview published August 27. “Asia is home to two-thirds of the world’s population. The majority of these people are poor. And there are many baptisms among the poor. Pope Francis knows that there are many poor in those areas, and among the poor there is an attraction to the figure of Jesus and to the Gospel, even in the midst of war, persecution and conflict.”

Interreligious dialogue, care for creation and fair treatment of immigrants are expected issues Pope Francis will address in each country. He is also likely to call on local Catholics to pick up the missionary mantle.

Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim nation with Catholics accounting for only about 3% of its population. Almost all people in Papua New Guinea are Christian with about 30% being Catholic. Timor-Leste has a majority Catholic population estimated at 96%. In Singapore, Buddhists make up about 31% of the population followed by those claiming no religious belief at around 20%; Christians account for almost 19% while Muslims comprise about 15%.

Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, Vatican foreign minister, told Italian magazine L’Espresso that this trip “incarnates” Pope Francis’ constant call for Catholics to go out to the “peripheries.”

The trip represents concern and closeness from Pope Francis "to everyone — Catholics and non-Catholics — based on conviction that we are ‘fratelli tutti’"— all brothers and sisters.

Care for creation will be another significant theme during this visit as all four countries are island nations exposed to rising sea levels' dangers. Notably, Indonesia is building a new capital city due to Jakarta's status as "the fastest-sinking megacity on the planet."