Indonesia’s Minister of Religious Affairs, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, announced on Sunday (31/3/24,) that Pope Francis will visit Indonesia on September 3, according to reporting from Antara News and Tempo.
Qoumas said that the Indonesian government has been notified regarding the upcoming visit of the head of the Catholic Church by the Vatican authority, adding that “this is indeed an honor for the Indonesian nation.”
Tempo reports that President Jokowi had been waiting for Pope Francis to come to Indonesia and that Quomas delivered the president’s invitation to Francis on June 8, 2022, inviting him to visit Indonesia.
“Praise be to God, after almost two years of waiting, Pope Francis will finally visit Indonesia. I believe this will be a special moment, especially to all Catholics,” the minister said.
He expressed hope that during his visit to Indonesia, Francis will personally observe and experience cultural diversity and religious harmony among various faiths in Indonesia, say Tempo.
“Indonesia can maintain tolerance and peace among various faiths, including local faiths. We hope Pope Francis can personally observe the diversity in Indonesia,” Qoumas said.
Source: Tempo
Stock photo by Ashwin Vaswani on Unsplash
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