50,000 people gather at the National Stadium for papal mass
Pope Francis arrives at the National Stadium for the papal mass on Sep 12, 2024
Around 50,000 people gathered at the National Stadium on Thursday (Sep 12) to attend the first papal mass in Singapore since 1986.
Pope Francis arrived at 4.30pm and rode around the stadium in a white buggy, blessing children and babies, and giving out rosaries to those he met.
A sea of people clad in yellow and white - the colours of the Vatican flag - waved at him and cheered as he passed by, with some holding up signs welcoming the pontiff and sending their well wishes.
Pope Francis sets off on historic 12-day visit to Asia Pacific, including Singapore and Indonesia
Pope Francis delivers his blessing as he recites the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024
Pope Francis sets off to embark on his longest trip since becoming head of the Catholic Church in 2013.
He will leave the Vatican City on Monday (Sep 2) to visit four countries in the Asia Pacific over 12 days. The 87-year-old will visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore, with the entire trip involving about 43 hours of flight time and a distance of 32,000km.
It will also be his longest trip in terms of days spent away from the Vatican. Bronchitis and joint pain have slowed Pope Francis down in recent years and caused him to postpone some trips and meetings. This upcoming tour – his first one since September last year – was originally planned for 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Indonesia ramps up security ahead of Pope Francis’ visit
A decoration at Jakarta Cathedral on Aug 28, ahead of Pope Francis' visit
Indonesia is stepping up security for Pope Francis’ visit this week – his first stop on a 12-day tour of Asia, with snipers being deployed and thousands of officers on standby.
Pope Francis, who is the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City state, is scheduled to visit the Indonesian capital of Jakarta from Sept 3 to 5, before making stops in Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore.
This will be the longest trip yet for the 87-year-old Argentinian pontiff, who now regularly uses a wheelchair because of back and knee pain.
Pope to visit St Theresa's nursing home, Catholic Junior College during Singapore trip
Pope Francis greets people as he arrives for the weekly general audience at Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, Jun 19, 2024
Pope Francis will visit St Theresa's nursing home and meet with students at Catholic Junior College during his trip to Singapore in September. According to an itinerary released by the Vatican, the pope will also meet with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, as well as celebrate mass at the National Stadium.
Pope Francis will be in Singapore from Sep 11 to 13 – the last leg of his Asia-Pacific tour. He will be visiting Indonesia from Sep 3 to 6, Papua New Guinea from Sep 6 to 9 and Timor-Leste from Sep 9 to 11. According to the itinerary, Pope Francis will arrive in Singapore at 2.15pm on Sep 11, before holding a private meeting with members of the Society of Jesus at St Francis Xavier Retreat Centre. The following day, he will attend a welcome ceremony at Parliament House and meet with Mr Tharman and Mr Wong.
Following that he is expected to hold a meeting with "authorities, civil society and diplomatic corps" in the theatre of the Cultural Centre of the National University of Singapore. He will celebrate mass at the National Stadium from 5.15pm on Sep 12. His third day will comprise visits to St Theresa's nursing home and Catholic Junior College, before he departs Singapore at about 11.50am.
Pope Francis’ itinerary in S’pore during Sept visit to include St Theresa’s Home, Catholic JC
Pope Francis will be in Singapore from 11-13 Sep 2024
Pope Francis will head to St Theresa’s Home and Catholic Junior College and celebrate mass at the National Stadium during his three-day visit to Singapore in September. The pontiff will be in Singapore from Sept 11 to Sept 13, in the last leg of an Asia-Pacific tour, which will also include Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste. The Pope’s programme in each country is outlined in detail in an itinerary issued by the Vatican on July 5.
The pontiff is expected to touch down at Changi Airport at 2.15pm on Sept 11, and later that day, will hold a private meeting with members of the Society of Jesus or Jesuits – a Roman Catholic order – at the St Francis Xavier Retreat Centre in Punggol. On Sept 12, Pope Francis, 87, will attend a welcome ceremony in Parliament House at 9am, after which he will call on President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, before meeting Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Later in the day, he will meet members of civil society, the diplomatic corps and others at the University Cultural Centre at the National University of Singapore. The Pope, who is the head of the Roman Catholic Church, will wrap up the second day of the papal visit by celebrating mass at the National Stadium.
On his last day in Singapore, the pontiff will visit St Theresa’s Home – a Catholic welfare nursing home in Upper Thomson for the elderly and aged sick – before an inter-religious meeting with young people at Catholic Junior College. He will then attend a farewell ceremony at 11.20am at Changi Airport before leaving for Rome. Registration for the papal mass ballot began on June 24 and will close on July 31. More than 40,000 tickets will be available to the public in an online exercise that is open to anyone in Singapore with a valid account on the myCatholicSG portal.
Catholic Church warns public about WhatsApp phishing scams related to Pope’s visit to Singapore
Pope Francis will celebrate mass on Sept 12
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore has reminded those keen on attending Pope Francis’ mass in Singapore that WhatsApp or other instant messaging apps will not be used in general ticketing or balloting processes.
In a statement on its website on June 23, it said it has received reports of Catholics having their WhatsApp accounts taken over by scammers who claimed to be helping them with the papal mass ticket registration process. Pope Francis will visit Singapore from Sept 11 to 13 and will celebrate mass on Sept 12. More than 40,000 tickets will be available to the public in the online ballot, which is open to anyone in Singapore with a valid account on the myCatholicSG portal.
The archdiocese said: “Scammers, having gained access to the WhatsApp accounts of those on your contact list, masquerade as your contacts and ask you to generate and send them a WhatsApp verification code on the pretext of helping you with the mass ticket registration. “They then use this code to hijack your WhatsApp account, gaining access to your contact list to perpetuate the scam.” The Straits Times has reached out to the archdiocese for more information.
Pope Francis to visit Singapore from Sept 11 to 13
Pope Francis’ visit to Singapore is part of a 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region. FOTO: AFP
In a statement on its website, the Archdiocese said it was sharing the news of the Pope’s visit, which was confirmed by The Holy See, with great “jubilation and thanksgiving”. Cardinal William Goh, the Archbishop of Singapore, said of the visit: “It has been 38 years since we had a visit from the Vicar of Christ to Singapore, when Pope St John Paul II honoured us with a visit on 20 November 1986.
“It is my hope that this visit of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, will bring renewed fervour to all Catholics in Singapore, uniting them in faith and mission, especially in these most challenging of times.” The Archdiocese statement added: “As we prepare for His Holiness’ visit, let us, as a community, pray for the continued health and safety of the Holy Father and ask the Lord to grant us a truly meaningful and grace-filled visit.”
MFA confirms Govt in talks with Vatican
Pope Francis' tour, which was earlier expected to take place in August, will mark only the second papal visit to Singapore. PHOTO: AFP
Singapore is in talks with the Vatican about a proposed visit by Pope Francis, which is expected to happen in September.
“Singapore welcomes a visit by Pope Francis,” a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said on April 2 in response to queries from The Straits Times.
The last papal visit was almost 40 years ago, when the late Pope John Paul II stayed just five hours and drew thousands of Roman Catholics during a brief stopover in 1986.
Pope Francis to visit Indonesia on 3 Sep 2024
Outgoing Indonesian President Joko Widodo invited the pope to visit Indonesia in 2022 as part of an effort to promote religious tolerance. PHOTO: REUTERS
Pope Francis will visit Indonesia in September, the country’s religious affairs minister has said, as concerns mounted over the 87-year-old pontiff’s health.
Outgoing President Joko Widodo in June 2022 invited the pope to visit Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, as part of an effort to promote religious tolerance. “After waiting for two years, Pope Francis finally will come to Indonesia. I believe this will be a special gift for the Catholics,” religious affairs minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said at an event in Central Java on March 30.
“Based on the letter sent by the Vatican received by the Indonesian government, Pope Francis will be present in Indonesia on Sept 3, 2024,” Mr Qoumas said, according to the ministry’s website. “This will be an honour for Indonesia.”
Pope Francis
Papacy began 13 March 2013
Pope Francis (Latin: Franciscus; Italian: Francesco; Spanish: Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. He is the first pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), the first from the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century papacy of the Syrian pope Gregory III.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio worked for a time as a bouncer and a janitor as a young man before training to be a chemist and working as a technician in a food science laboratory. After recovering from a severe illness of pneumonia and cysts, he was inspired to join the Jesuits in 1958. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969, and from 1973 to 1979 was the Jesuit provincial superior in Argentina. He became the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II. He led the Argentine Church during the December 2001 riots in Argentina. The administrations of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner considered him to be a political rival.
Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013, a papal conclave elected Bergoglio as his successor on 13 March. He chose Francis as his papal name in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi. Throughout his public life, Francis has been noted for his humility, emphasis on God's mercy, international visibility as pope, concern for the poor, and commitment to interreligious dialogue. He is credited with having a less formal approach to the papacy than his predecessors, for instance choosing to reside in the Domus Sanctae Marthae guesthouse rather than in the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace used by previous popes.
The first Papal visit was almost 40 years ago on 20 Nov 1986
Pope John Paul II calling on then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at the Istana in 1986. FOTO: ST FILE
In 1986, Pope John Paul II knelt and kissed the tarmac when he touched down at Changi Airport – a traditional gesture marking the start of a state visit.
Then Singapore Archbishop Gregory Yong and then Vatican Ambassador to Singapore, Archbishop Renato Martino, as well as then Communications Minister Yeo Ning Hong boarded the plane to receive him.
After meeting then President Wee Kim Wee and then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at the Istana, he presided over a mass attended by about 70,000 people at the former National Stadium.
