Pope receives warm nighttime welcome in Papua New Guinea

by CNS · September 6, 2024

Pope Francis and John Rosso, deputy prime minister of Papua New Guinea, take their seats on a covered platform at Jacksons International Airport for an official welcome ceremony in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Sept. 6, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

By Cindy Wooden, CNS – With a 21-cannon salute, Pope Francis was welcomed to Papua New Guinea Sept. 6, the second stop on his four-nation visit to Asia and the Pacific.

After flying five and a half hours from Jakarta, Indonesia, the 87-year-old pope landed at Jacksons International Airport in Port Moresby and was greeted with flowers from children wearing traditional dress.

John Rosso, Papua New Guinea’s deputy prime minister, led the official welcome ceremony, which featured the cannon salute, a review of the honour guard, the playing of the Vatican and Papua New Guinean national anthems and the presentation of their respective delegations.

Although the pope landed an hour after sunset, the roads from the airport were lined with thousands of people hoping to see him. Many held long-handled, battery-powered candles.

Pope Francis folds his hands in a gesture of gratitude as he approaches a platform at Jacksons International Airport for an official welcome ceremony in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Sept. 6, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

Unlike Indonesia, where Christians are a small minority, in Papua New Guinea an estimated 98% of the population is Christian. According to Vatican statistics, Catholics represent about 31% of the nation’s 8.2 million people.

With Pope Francis the Pacific-island nation was hosting its third papal visit; St. John Paul II visited in 1984 and again in 1995.