Pope Francis delivers his blessing during his weekly general audience at Paul VI hall in the Vatican on January 24, 2024. AFP
PORT MORESBY — Pope Francis will visit Papua New Guinea in August, the country’s foreign minister announced Thursday.
Justin Tkatchenko said the government had received an “official note that Pope Francis will visit PNG in August” for a three-day visit.
“We are working closely with the Apostolic Nuncio’s office,” he added. “A team has been assembled and will meet… to look into all aspects of the visit.”
The announcement comes just two weeks after the capital Port Moresby was convulsed by deadly rioting.
Pope Francis, 87, is expected to visit the capital and one of two coastal cities in the country’s north.
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Papua New Guinea is home to more than nine million Christians — almost all the population — although most Papua New Guineans are protestant and retain many traditional animist or spiritual beliefs.
A 400-year-old calf-skin-bound version of the King James bible sits in the centre of the country’s parliament.
The last papal visit to the country came in 1995, when Pope John Paul II was met with tribal dancers adorned with exotic bird feathers, grass skirts and loincloths.
A papal visit had been planned for 2020 but was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to a Vatican source, the pope could also visit East Timor and Indonesia in August — two other countries he planned to visit in 2020 — but nothing has been officially confirmed.
Francis received East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta at the Vatican on Monday, discussing the country’s economic and social situation and the impact of climate change on the region, according to the Vatican.
News of a visit to Papua New Guinea comes as a major boost to embattled Prime Minister James Marape, who has been called on to resign after riots that killed at least 25 people.
On January 11, angry crowds tore through Port Moresby, torching parked cars, ransacking grocery stores and setting fire to buildings.
Violence spread to other parts of the country and dozens of citizens were shot, wounded with machetes or burned.
The riots were triggered when members of the country’s police force went on strike, walking off the job after their pay was mistakenly docked without explanation.
Since his election by cardinals in 2013, Pope Francis has made 44 trips abroad. For 2024, he has also planned a trip to Belgium and has mentioned a possible visit to his native Argentina.