Pope Francis has landed in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. His Indonesia Airlines plane touched down at 19:10 local time on Friday the 6th of September, beginning the second leg of his 45th Apostolic Journey abroad. 

Pope and pilgrims travel to Port Moresby

The people of Papua New Guinea had been anxiously awaiting Pope Francis and Catholics from across the country have been arriving to the capital city in large groups. Given the lack of roads, many of them from more remote areas had to walk for days to get here.

We were able to visit one of the local parishes, in the Tokarara neighborhood of Port Moresby, where they are being hosted, and the anticipation and joy are palpable.

And the people won’t be disappointed, as the Holy Father shows no signs of slowing down following the first part of his papal visit, in Jakarta, Indonesia.

What to expect in the next few days

His schedule for Papua New Guinea in fact is packed full of important events, including meetings with government officials, local authorities and diplomats; and with children in street situations and those with disabilities.

He will also pay a visit to the Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians, where he will meet with the Bishops of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, and with priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, seminarians and catechists.

On Sunday morning, the Pope will celebrate Holy Mass with the faithful at Sir John Guise Stadium, which has been teeming with activity during these last few days as final preparations are made.

Also on Sunday, he will take a flight to Vanimo, in northwestern Papua New Guinea where he will meet the faithful and a group of missionaries before returning to Port Moresby in the evening.

Pope Francis will conclude the second stage of his Apostolic Journey with a meeting with young people on Monday morning.

Nearly 30 years since a papal visit to Papua New Guinea

It’s a visit that’s long overdue, as the last time a Pontiff travelled to this island country was in 1995, when Saint John Paul II was here for the beatification of Peter To Rot, a Papuan lay catechist who was martyred during the Second World War for teaching the Catholic faith.

As the media manager for the papal visit puts it, the Holy Father’s presence in this country on the peripheries offers a great source of hope for the faithful, a sentiment echoed by many of the Papuan Catholics we’ve met in these days leading up to this historic event.