Pope opens Asian odyssey with stopover in Indonesia to bring Catholics together and salute tradition of religious freedom

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis is heading to Indonesia for the longest trip of his pontificate, hoping to encourage the Catholic community and celebrate the tradition of interfaith harmony in a country with the world’s largest Muslim population.

Pope Francis, 87, planned to take a day off when he arrived in Jakarta on Tuesday, given the overnight flight from Rome and the rigors of an 11-day trip that will also take him to Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. The Vatican said, however, that the 87-year-old pope would meet a group of refugees, migrants and the sick at the Vatican residence in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The highlight of Pope Francis’ first stop will be his participation Thursday in an interfaith meeting at Jakarta’s iconic Istiqlal Mosque with representatives of Indonesia’s six officially recognized religions: Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Catholicism and Protestantism.

The mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia, sits across the street from the capital’s main Catholic cathedral, Our Lady of the Assumption, and the two are so close together that the Muslim call to prayer can be heard during mass.

Their proximity is not accidental, but is a symbol of religious freedom and tolerance enshrined in the Indonesian constitution. The two buildings are also connected by an underground “friendship tunnel” that Francis will visit with the grand imam, Nasaruddin Umar, before signing a joint declaration.

While Pope Francis is keen to highlight Indonesia’s tradition of religious tolerance, the country’s image as a moderate Muslim nation has been tarnished by outbreaks of intolerance. In 2021, a pair of Islamist militants blew themselves up outside a packed Catholic cathedral on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi during a Palm Sunday Mass, injuring at least 20 people.

“We have no problem with his visit. He is a guest and we will welcome him,” said Eldy, a 64-year-old retired civil servant who uses only one name and was walking in Jakarta on a car-free day on Sunday. “He wants to visit our Istiqlal mosque, he can do that.”

Although Catholics represent only 3% of Indonesia’s population, the sheer number of Indonesians (275 million) makes the archipelago the third largest Christian community in Asia, after the Philippines and China.

Thousands of people are expected to turn out this week for events organized by Pope Francis, including a mass Thursday afternoon at Jakarta’s main stadium that is expected to draw some 60,000 people. City officials have urged residents to work from home that day, given the roadblocks and crowds.

“It’s a joy for our country, especially for us Catholics,” said Elisabeth Damanik, a 50-year-old housewife, outside a Mass at Our Lady of the Assumption on Sunday. “I hope the pope’s visit can strengthen religious tolerance in our beloved country, Indonesia.”

Environmental protection, conflict resolution and ethical economic development are major themes of the trip, and Francis could address them in his keynote address to Indonesian officials on Wednesday.

Francis has made environmental protection a hallmark of his pontificate and has often used his foreign visits to advance his agenda on the need to care for God’s creation, prevent the exploitation of its natural resources and protect poor people who bear the brunt of climate extremes and pollution.

In Jakarta, he will discover a metropolis of 11.3 million people suffocating under gray clouds of air pollution caused by coal-fired power plants, vehicle exhaust, waste incineration and factories. Jakarta’s air pollution is regularly eight to nine times higher than the World Health Organization’s limits.

“Indonesia has the highest air pollution in Southeast Asia,” said Piotr Jakubowski, an air pollution expert and co-founder of Indonesian air quality monitoring company Nafas. “The pope’s visit is a great thing because it gives us the benefit of another highly respected world leader’s insight.”

Residents also hope that Francis will speak out on the issue.

“Pollution in Jakarta is at an alarming level. That’s why the presence of the pope can be beneficial for the debate on environmental issues,” said Erik Sebastian Naibaho, a 26-year-old civil servant.

Francis is the third pope to visit Indonesia after Pope Paul VI in 1970 and St. John Paul II in 1989. Their attention underscores Indonesia’s importance to the Vatican, both in terms of Christian-Muslim dialogue and Catholic vocations, as it is home to the world’s largest seminary and produces hundreds of priests and other religious a year.

“Indonesia is trying to grow in faith,” said Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, the archbishop of Jakarta whom Francis named a cardinal in 2019.

At a press briefing last week, he said Francis wanted to express his appreciation for Indonesia’s interreligious tradition “and encourage this type of fraternity to continue to be maintained and developed.”

• Tarigan was reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. Helena Alves contributed from Jakarta.