Manila not part of Pope’s 11-day Asia-Pacific journey

Pope Francis waves as he leaves after his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican, Aug. 28, 2024. —AP Photo/Andrew Medichini/File

MANILA, Philippines — Manila will not be part of Pope Francis’ apostolic visit, which will take him to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore from Sept. 3 to Sept. 13.

“The Pope already visited the Philippines in 2015. He is now prioritizing those whom he has not yet visited—the ones in the peripheries,” Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president, told the Inquirer on Tuesday.

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“Understandably, the Pope is not a young man anymore. Even this visit to Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and Singapore will be very challenging for him,” he said.

“Let us pray for the success of this papal visit, which the four host countries are very excited about,” he added.

The Pope will be accompanied by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Vatican’s Pro-Prefect for the Section of Evangelization of Dicastery for Evangelization.