By Joshua McElwee
ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT, Sep 2 (Reuters) – Pope Francis left Rome on Monday for Jakarta, the place the 87-year-old chief of the worldwide Catholic Church will begin an formidable 12-day tour to 4 international locations in Southeast Asia.
The flight carrying the pope and his entourage left Fiumicino airport for an in a single day flight of greater than 13 hours to the Indonesian capital.
The pope can be in Indonesia till Friday. He’s then scheduled to go to Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore earlier than returning to Rome on Sept. 13.
Francis, who has burdened the significance of environmental points all through his 11-year papacy, is anticipated to induce world motion on local weather change through the voyage.
Every of the international locations on his tour is going through risks from the warming world local weather, together with rising sea ranges and more and more extreme and unpredictable warmth waves and typhoons.
Francis is about to journey practically 33,000 km (20,500 miles) all through the go to, and can headline greater than 40 occasions. It’s the longest journey but by the pontiff, who now usually makes use of a wheelchair because of knee and again ache and has had bouts of ailing well being.
He was in a wheelchair as he boarded the flight on Monday, utilizing a cellular carry to achieve entry to the plane.
At a press briefing on Friday, the Vatican stated it was not taking any uncommon medical precautions for the pope on this journey.
“We’re taking the identical precautions that we all the time take,” stated Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press workplace.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Modifying by Angus MacSwan)
