Archbishop: Pope Francis to Visit Indonesia in 2017

Jakarta Globe, Fatima Bona, Nov 13, 2014

Pope Francis gestures as he arrives to lead his weekly general audience in
Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Wednesday. (Reuters Photo/Tony Gentile)

Jakarta. Pope Francis will visit the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation in 2017, the secretary general of the Indonesian Bishops Conference (KWI) said on Thursday.

“The pope will come to Indonesia, to celebrate Asian Youth Day,” said Mgr. Johannes Pujasumarta, the archbishop of Semarang.

Johannes, who was speaking on the sidelines of a KWI meeting in Central Jakarta, said he could not yet confirm any details of the visit.

If the pope indeed manages to come to Indonesia, it would be the first papal visit since 1989, when Pope John Paul II celebrated a mass and visited then-President Suharto in Jakarta.

The apostolic nunciature in Jakarta could not immediately be reached for comment after office hours.

Approximately 3 percent of Indonesia’s population identifies as Roman Catholic, or about 7.5 million people. However, Roman Catholicism is the majority religion in some — primarily eastern — parts of the country.