Pope Francis likely to visit S’pore in Sep, 2nd ever papal visit since 1986

Pope Francis expected to visit Singapore as part of Asia-Pacific tour

Pope Francis — the Pope and head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State — will likely be visiting Singapore this September.

The visit will mark only the second time a Pope has visited our island nation in history.

Pope Francis will also be stopping over at three other countries in the Asia-Pacific (APAC).

May spend at least 1 day in Singapore

Citing de facto Vatican foreign minister Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, The Straits Times (ST) reported that Pope Francis plans to visit Singapore, Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea this year.

America magazine, a monthly Catholic magazine by the Jesuits of the United States (US) noted on 27 March that the pontiff’s trip that was initially planned for Aug will now happen in Sep.

Details of the visit are unavailable at the time of writing. However, ST quoted America magazine as saying that the 87-year-old Pope may stay for at least a day “if health permits”.

This would already be a significant extension from the last papal visit when Pope John Paul II stopped over in Singapore.

In 1986, Pope John Paul II spent five hours in Singapore, using the time to meet with then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and President Wee Kim Wee.

He also presided over a mass at the former National Stadium with roughly 70,000 people in attendance.

As of this writing, the Archdiocese of Singapore has yet to release a statement regarding the visit.

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Featured image adapted from Con El Papa on Facebook.