Pope Francis arrives in Indonesia as he starts marathon trip abroad

Pope Francis arrived on Tuesday in Indonesia, kicking off the longest foreign trip of his tenure so far, due to take him to four countries in South-East Asia and Oceania over the next 12 days.

The 87-year-old head of the Catholic Church arrived in Jakarta more than 13 hours after setting off from Rome on a special flight operated by Italian airline ITA Airways.

With more than 240 million Muslims, Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world.

Further stops will be Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.

The pope's 45th trip abroad will focus in particular on peaceful coexistence between the different religions. Of the four countries he is set to visit, only in East Timor do the majority of the population identify as Catholic.

The pontiff's agenda includes a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and a visit to the Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in South-East Asia.

A joint declaration with Muslim representatives is also planned, emphasizing the pope's commitment to interfaith dialogue, particularly with Islam.

Additionally, a large church service is scheduled at a stadium, expected to draw tens of thousands of faithful, as is customary during papal visits.

Given the age and state of health of Francis, who now often uses a wheelchair, the breaks between his foreign journeys have become longer. The pontiff's last major trip abroad was a year ago, when he visited Mongolia.

Originally planned for 2020 but postponed due to the pandemic, this visit to the Indo-Pacific aligns with Francis's goal of reaching regions far from Rome.

The pope, who has been in office for 11 years, will cover more than 30,000 kilometres by plane on this tour. He is scheduled to return to Rome on September 13.

No official appointments were scheduled after his arrival. His programme in Indonesia is set to begin on Wednesday.

A visit to Luxembourg and Belgium is on the programme for his next trip abroad later this month.