Pope Francis heads to Papua New Guinea to visit remote Catholic communities

By Lucy Craymer

(Reuters) - Pope Francis will touch down in Papua New Guinea later on Friday as the pontiff undertakes his longest ever overseas journey with an aim to reach Catholics in the most remote corners of the world and highlight a cause close to his heart, climate change.

The Pope’s three-day visit to the country will include time in the capital Port Moresby where he will meet with authorities, civil societies and church leaders, participating in Sunday mass before heading to the remote town of Vanimo to meet with Catholic missionaries.

Papua New Guinea is a vast and sprawling country of mountains, jungle and rivers with some of the world’s last uncontacted tribes, and a population estimated at anything from 9 million to 17 million. The Vatican estimates there are around 2.5 million Catholics in the country.

Paul Morris, a emeritus professor of religious studies at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, said this visit was part of the push to be a truly global church.

"In the last decade or so the popes have celebrated more distant communities,” he said.

Flags welcoming the Pope are fluttering through capital Port Moresby and all the major intersections are decked out celebrating his impending arrival. Merchandise including yellow T-shirts with a large image of the Pope and brightly coloured bucket hats are for sale.

"During the mass we'll also be having a traditional entrance procession as well as we have the official procession, which will be traditional dancers showcasing something from the cultural context of Papua New Guinea,” said Sr. Daisy Anne Lisania, spokesperson for the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea.

A chair had been carved for the ageing pope to use during the Papal Mass to be held at a local football stadium.

CHRISTIANITY IN PNG

PNG, which is spread over more than 400,000 square km and 600 islands, is home to over 800 languages - some 12% of the world's total.

Christian missionaries arrived nearly 200 years ago and Christianity is now core to government and daily life.

“There's a church in every village, without a doubt. There's a church pastor or a reverend in every village and in some cases, there will be two or three of them,” said Douveri Henao, co-chair of the Papua New Guinea Israel Jewish Council.

“Much of Papua New Guinea is still reliant on church institutions to drive their socioeconomic livelihoods and increasingly in developing their economic participation as well,” Henao said.

Past papal visits have been colourful, nerve-racking and sometimes humorous.

During the 1984 visit of Pope John Paul II to the Western Highlands, rival tribes billeted in dormitories in the mining town engaged in an all-night chanting match, leaving security officials on tenterhooks, fearing an eruption of inter-tribal violence. And in 1995, John Paul II was hailed as bringing rains to the country which was in a drought.

On this visit, Pope Francis is expected to talk about climate change and the need to do more to reduce global warming. Some Catholics hope the pope will announce Peter To Rot, a Catechist who was killed during Japanese occupation in 1945, will become the country's first saint.

PNG has also found itself increasingly of interest recently as Western countries including the U.S. worry about its growing relationship with China. Pope Francis is just the latest in a list of influential or senior leaders to tour.

In April, head of the Seventh Day Adventist Church Ted Wilson visited, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi both attended the Pacific Island leaders meeting in May 2023, while China's Premier Li Qiang has also visited.

(This story has been refiled to correct Paul Morris’ title to emeritus professor in paragraph 4)

(Reporting by Lucy Craymer in Wellington; Editing by Lincoln Feast)