PNG: Pope wraps up second leg of Apostolic Journey

By Claudia Torres – Port Moresby

Joy, gratitude and hope.

It’s with these emotions that Catholics—and non-Catholics—in Papua New Guinea prepared for Pope Francis’ visit to their island country, and it is with those same emotions that they will remember the Holy Father’s presence among them during his Apostolic Journey to Asia and Oceania.

A message of hope

From his meeting with authorities, members of civil society and the diplomatic corps, and his meeting with children with disabilities and those in street situations, on Saturday 7 September; from Holy Mass and a short visit to Vanimo to meet with Catholic locals, on Sunday, 8 September, to his meeting with the Oceanian country’s young people on Sunday, 9 September, the Pope’s almost four full days in this South Pacific nation were an occasion for him to offer a message of hope to the people of Papua New Guinea.

His four public discourses and his homily touched on the various challenges Papua New Guinea faces, including climate change, exploitation of natural resources, gender inequality and tribal violence. The Pope urged Papua New Guineans to love one another, setting aside superstitions and destructive behaviors, and to work towards unity.

Working for unity

In fact, this work towards greater unity is already underway, as was evident throughout the Pope’s visit, especially during his stop at the Caritas Technical Secondary School, during Holy Mass with the faithful, and during the meeting with the youth. At all these events, many of Papua New Guinea’s hundreds of different cultural groups were represented, bringing together their unique characteristics. It was a vibrant example of the harmonization in diversity which the Pope often cites as a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Spreading the Gospel

Another key aspect of this leg of the trip was missionary work, whose history in Papua New Guinea goes hand-in-hand with the history of the Catholic Church, thanks to the tireless efforts of the countless men and women who, since the late 1800s, have given themselves to spread the Gospel message.

The Pope also had the chance to personally thank several missionaries for their dedication to the faith and the people they serve. On Sunday, in fact, the Holy Father left Port Moresby to spend a few hours with Catholic lay faithful and missionaries in Vanimo, a coastal city in northwestern Papua New Guinea that can be reached only by boat or plane. There, he met with a missionary and old friend of his from Argentina, Fr Martin Prado, and he thanked all missionaries and those who support them, for their work.

Concluding his visit with a brief farewell ceremony, the Holy Father boarded the papal flight to continue on to the third leg of the 45th Apostolic Journey of his pontificate. His next stop: Dili, Timor-Leste.