Pope Francis plans to travel to South-East Asia this summer

DPA
·1 min read
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Pope Francis waves during his wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. Evandro Inetti/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Pope Francis waves during his wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. Evandro Inetti/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Pope Francis plans to travel to South-East Asia in late summer, the Holy See's spokesman said on Friday.

The head of the Catholic Church is to visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore from September 2-13, it said.

During the planned trip, 87-year-old Francis is to visit the capital cities of Jakarta, Port Moresby, Dili and Singapore.

In Papua New Guinea, a stopover in the small town of Vanimo is also planned in addition to the visit to Port Moresby. The Holy See intends to announce the exact itinerary at a later date.

Francis has mentioned a visit to the East Asia-Pacific region in public appearances, however, he has been in poor health for some time.

Francis has recently been struggling with various respiratory infections. In November, his doctors advised him to cancel a trip to Dubai.

So far this year, only three further trips by the Pope have been officially announced: Domestic trips to Venice, Verona and Trieste.