Asia - Pacific News

Pope Francis speaks at the Dili Convention Center in East Timor, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024.

Pope Francis leaves East Timor: ‘I’ll never forget your smiles’

Sep 11, 2024

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis’ event with young adults was his last stop in East Timor before flying four hours to Singapore for... Read more

Pope Francis during Mass at the Esplanade of Taci Tolu in Dili, Timor-Leste, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024.

Pope Francis’ Mass in East Timor draws 600,000 Catholics

Sep 10, 2024

By Courtney Mares

The pope celebrated the youthfulness of East Timor at the outdoor Mass where the crowd appeared like a sea of... Read more

The faithful gather at the site of Father Arul Das' death in the Jamboni jungle on Sept. 2, 2024.

Thousands gather in jungle for celebration honoring Catholic priest killed in eastern India

Sep 10, 2024

By Anto Akkara

The priest was shot and pierced with arrows in his thatched chapel-house during the early hours of Sept. 2, 1999. Read more

Pope Francis blesses children at the Irmas Alma School in Timor-Leste on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024

Pope Francis in East Timor says children show us how to ‘be cared for by God’

Sep 10, 2024

By Kristina Millare

“This is what one finds here: love. Without love this cannot be understood. And so we understand the love of... Read more

Pope Francis arrives at the meeting with bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons, seminarians, and catechists in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, East Timor, Sept. 10, 2024.

Catholics in East Timor welcome Pope Francis to their island ‘oasis’ of religious vocations

Sep 10, 2024

By Courtney Mares

In East Timor, a country where 98% of the population is Catholic, Pope Francis was met with great enthusiasm on... Read more

Pope Francis arrives in East Timor on Sept. 9, 2024.

Pope Francis arrives in East Timor, Asia’s youngest and most Catholic country

Sep 9, 2024

By Courtney Mares

Francis is the first pope to visit East Timor since it gained independence from Indonesia in 2002, becoming the first... Read more

Pope Francis greets the crowd at Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Monday, Sept. 9, 2024.

Pope to youth in Papua New Guinea: Words, gestures of love overcome ‘ugly fruit of hatred’

Sep 9, 2024

By Kristina Millare

The pope emphasized that “the language of love, the language of closeness, the language of service” is what can unite... Read more

Pope Francis wears a traditional head dress as greets a young girl in Vanimo, Papua New Guinea, Sept. 8, 2024.

Pope Francis in Papua New Guinea: Put love before superstition, fear

Sep 8, 2024

By Hannah Brockhaus

After celebrating Mass in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on Sept. 8, the pope traveled 620 miles by air to... Read more

Two children, one of them holding a statue of Blessed Peter To Rot, await the visit of Pope Francis at the Caritas Technical Secondary School in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Sept. 7, 2024.

Remembering the missionary martyrs of Papua New Guinea

Sep 8, 2024

By Courtney Mares

Here is a closer look at three remarkable individuals who shaped the Catholic mission in Papua New Guinea. Read more

Pope Francis celebrates Mass at Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Sept. 8, 2024.

Pope Francis’ Mass in Papua New Guinea: ‘Open yourselves to the joy of the Gospel’

Sep 7, 2024

By Courtney Mares

Pope Francis celebrated Mass in Papua New Guinea on Sunday, urging openness to God and others while praying for peace... Read more

The new Maori Queen Kuini Nga wai hono i te po — who is Catholic — leaves the waka (canoe) following her father, Maori king Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, on Sept. 5, 2024, in Hamilton, New Zealand.

New Maori Queen in New Zealand is Catholic

Sep 7, 2024

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

The Maori people, the Indigenous population of mainland New Zealand, have crowned a new queen after the death of their... Read more

Pope Francis visits the Caritas Technical Secondary School in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Sept. 7, 2024.

Pope Francis asks Papua New Guinea Catholics to spread the Gospel to ‘peripheries’

Sep 7, 2024

By Courtney Mares

Pope Francis called on Catholics in Papua New Guinea to continue to bring the Gospel to the most marginalized and... Read more

A man stands in front of a poster of Pope Francis outside APEC Haus in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, to welcome the Roman pontiff, Sept. 7, 2024.

Pope Francis urges stewardship of Papua New Guinea’s resources, peace among tribes

Sep 6, 2024

By Courtney Mares

In his address to officials in Port Moresby, Pope Francis called for responsible use of natural resources, an end to... Read more

The population of Papua New Guinea is currently 30% Catholic, with growth at a rate of 40,000 baptized each year.

Some people in Papua New Guinea walked 3 weeks to see Pope Francis

Sep 6, 2024

By Nicolás de Cárdenas

Some people even came from the Solomon Islands, about 885 miles to the east in the South Pacific.  Read more

Socorro Vázquez (left) together with Indonesian friends prior to attending a papal Mass in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Spanish expatriate reflects on gift of pope’s visit to predominantly Muslim Indonesia

Socorro Vázquez, a 27-year-old Catholic from Spain, reflected on her experience of Pope Francis’ visit to Indonesia and her faith... Read more

Pope Francis is welcomed in Papua New Guinea on Sept. 6, 2024.

Pope Francis arrives in Papua New Guinea amid report of arrests in Indonesia

Sep 6, 2024

By Kristina Millare

As Pope Francis arrives in Papua New Guinea, Indonesian police report they detained seven individuals in connection with a foiled... Read more

East Timor’s President José Ramos-Horta and Cardinal Virgílio do Carmo da Silva,speak to EWTN News in Depth in August 2024, ahead of the visit by Pope Francis.

How the Catholic faith has helped East Timor forgive

Sep 6, 2024

By Hannah Brockhaus

Pope Francis’ visit to East Timor highlights the Catholic Church’s vital role in the nation’s journey of reconciliation and peace. Read more

A young Catholic attends the papal Mass at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024.

PHOTOS: Pope Francis in Indonesia for his 45th apostolic journey

Sep 6, 2024

By Jonah McKeown

The Holy Father on Tuesday landed in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, the first stop on what is to be... Read more

Pope Francis celebrates a Papal Mass at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024.

Pope Francis celebrates Mass with 100,000 worshippers in Indonesia

Sep 5, 2024

By Kristina Millare

Upon entering the stadium in a wheelchair, Pope Francis was immediately greeted by loud cheers and cries of “Viva Papa!”... Read more

Pope Francis speaks to religious leaders on the grounds of Indonesia's national mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept 5, 2024.

Pope Francis and grand imam sign joint declaration at Indonesia mosque

Sep 5, 2024

By Courtney Mares

Pope Francis signs interfaith declaration at Indonesia’s largest mosque, promoting religious harmony and condemning violence. Read more