Janice R. Andrews
Pope Francis is going to one of the most rural parts of the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea as part of his historic trip to Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The 87-year-old pope, who is known for focusing on underprivileged groups, will visit the small coastal town of Vanimo on Sunday. The 10,000 people who live in the area will remember this visit for a long time.
Vanimo is on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea, close to the border with Indonesia. It is famous for its beautiful surf beaches and its colonial past, when it was ruled by Germany. The town doesn’t have good roads connecting it to the rest of the country. The Pope is paying a special visit to the town as part of his goal to bring the Church closer to the edges of the world.
Giving Vanimo Help and Hope
When Pope Francis gets to Vanimo, he will bring much-needed aid like medicine, clothes, and toys for kids. This act of kindness shows that the Vatican is still committed to helping people who are weak or not getting enough help. A spokesman for the Vatican stressed how important this visit was, saying that it showed the Pope’s desire to reach out to people far away and show kindness to those in need.
A Big Party in Port Moresby
Before going to Vanimo, Pope Francis held Mass on Sunday morning in Port Moresby, the city of Papua New Guinea. About 35,000 people showed up to the event, which took place in a football field. Traditional dancers in grass skirts and feathered headdresses performed to the beat of drums at the start of the Mass. They added a rich cultural element to the holy service.
In his speech, Pope Francis spoke to the people of Papua New Guinea. He recognized how remote they were geographically and reminded them of how important they were spiritually. “You who live on this large island in the Pacific Ocean may sometimes have thought of yourselves as a far-away and distant land,” the Pope told us. “Yet today the Lord wants to draw near to you, to break down distances, to let you know that you are at the center of his heart.”
Focus on those who are on the outside
Pope Francis, who has often said that the “peripheries” are more important than the usual power centers in the Church, talked about the problems that hurt and pushed to the edges of society in Papua New Guinea. He went to Vanimo on a leased Royal Australian Air Force C-130 plane, which shows how much he wants to help the weakest people.
There are about 10 million people living in Papua New Guinea, and about 2.5 million of them are Catholic. These Catholics often mix their Christian faith with local customs and practices. Pope Francis is currently on a tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania, which also includes stops in Indonesia, East Timor, and Singapore. This is his longest trip abroad so far.
