Pope Francis, 87, flies to Indonesia Monday on the first leg of an ambitious four-nation tour, with interfaith ties set to dominate his visit to the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.
The pontiff leaves Rome on Monday afternoon and lands in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Tuesday morning, the first stop in a 12-day voyage that will also take in Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore.
Covering some 32,000 kilometres (almost 20,000 miles), the tour—the longest and farthest of his 11 years leading the worldwide Catholic Church—will test Francis' increasingly fragile health.
Catholics currently represent fewer than three percent of the population of Indonesia—some eight million people, compared to the 87 percent, or 242 million, who are Muslim.
Inter faith relations
But they are one of six officially recognised religions or denominations in the secular nation, also including Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism.
On Thursday, Francis will meet representatives of all six at the Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia and a symbol of religious coexistence.
At the mosque, Pope Francis will sign a joint declaration with the grand imam, Nasaruddin Umar.
The statement will focus on "dehumanisation", notably the spread of violence and conflict, particularly to women and children, as well as environmental degradation, according to the Indonesian bishops' conference.
Popular figure
Security is tight for the three-day visit, with the military, police, and members of the president's own detail among more than 4,000 law enforcement officers deployed.
A new billboard advert declaring "Welcome Pope Francis" has been put up in central Jakarta, while the government has ordered a special stamp in his honour.
It is the third papal visit to Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,500 islands, after Paul VI in 1970 and John Paul II in 1989.
Francis will meet outgoing President Joko Widodo during his visit, and hold meetings with young people, diplomats, and local clergy.
He will also preside over a mass in an 80,000-seat stadium, one of several such events during the tour, the 45th overseas trip of his papacy.
He will be travelling to Indonesia with his personal doctor and two nurses, but Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said this is normal, saying no extra precautions were in place.
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