Jakarta (ANTARA) - Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican, received a rousing welcome from around 87 thousand Catholics at Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) Stadium, Jakarta, where he presided over a grand mass.
The mass, which was attended by Catholics from several regions across Indonesia, began around 5 p.m. local time on Thursday.
Pope Francis arrived at the GBK complex at 4 p.m. There, he was greeted by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and his aides who had arrived earlier.
After shaking hands and having a brief conversation with President Widodo, the Holy See leader proceeded to ride a modified Indonesia-made Maung MV3 car with an open roof to greet the people who had gathered at Madya Stadium.
Thereafter, he continued his trip toward the GBK Main Stadium, where thousands of Catholics chanted his name in Italian.
"Viva il Papa! Viva Papa Francesco! (Long Live the Pope! Long Live Pope Francis!)," roared the congregants flocking Indonesia's largest football stadium.
In addition, the songs Kristus Jaya and Ave Maria greeted the Vatican head of state at the stadium.
The grand holy mass was the peak of Pope Francis' visit to Indonesia. He earlier met with President Widodo at Merdeka Palace, greeted Catholic figures at the Jakarta Cathedral, and joined an interfaith dialogue at Istiqlal Mosque.
Pope Francis is visiting Indonesia as part of his apostolic journey to the Asia-Pacific. The 12-day visit, which began on September 3, 2024, and will end on September 13, is the longest the Pope has ever undertaken in 11 years of papacy.
Pope Francis is the third Vatican leader to pay a visit to Indonesia, following Pope Paul VI in 1970 and Pope John Paul II in 1989.
The esteemed religious figure will stay in Indonesia until tomorrow before proceeding to Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore.
