Pope Francis embarks on marathon Asia-Pacific trip

Pope Francis begins the foreign trip of his papacy on Monday, a 12-day journey to four countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Francis, 87, will first head to Indonesia. Despite being the most populous Muslim-majority country in the world, Indonesia is also home to 8.6 million Catholics.

He will then travel to Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore. Of all the stops, only East Timor is a most of the population Catholic.

Health issues slowing pope down

This is Francis’ first major trip abroad this year. Health issues have prevented the pontiff, who now often uses a wheelchair, from more extensive international travel in recent years.

The trip was originally scheduled for 2020, but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This trip, combined with last year’s visit to Mongolia, highlights the growing importance of Asia and Oceania to the Catholic Church. The region is one of the few in the world where the number of faithful is on the rise.