Pope Francis arrived today on a visit to Papua New Guinea - the second stage of his 12-day visit tour in Southeast Asia and Oceania, reported "Reuters", quoted by NOVA.
The Holy Father's plane left this evening local time from Indonesia and arrived in the neighboring country, where the head of the Roman Catholic Church will stay until Monday. Francis, 87, got off the plane in a wheelchair and was greeted in Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby by Prime Minister James Marape and Catholic clergy.
His first public appearance in the Oceanian nation will be an address to political leaders tomorrow. Global warming will be a major theme during Francis' visit to Papua New Guinea, whose leaders blame climate change for a series of natural disasters that have hit the country recently, including a mudslide that killed at least 2,000 people in May, notes "Reuters".
The vast majority of local residents are Christians, but nearly two-thirds of them are Protestants, and about a quarter are Catholics.
In neighboring Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, the Pope called for vigilance in relation to religious extremism.
After Papua New Guinea, Francis will visit East Timor and Singapore before returning to Rome on September 13.
This is the longest foreign tour of the pope since he sat on the throne of Saint Peter in 2013. Francis will travel a total of nearly 33 thousand kilometers, according to "Reuters".