Pope Francis arrives in PNG this week

The head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, arrives in Papua New Guinea for a three day visit this Saturday.

Pope Francis will be visiting PNG as part of an 11-day, multi-country visit, which includes stops in Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and Singapore.

Most of that time will be spent in Port Moresby, but on the Sunday, Pope Francis will make a quick return trip to Vanimo on 8 September, which is nearly 1000 kilometres to the northwest and on the border with Indonesia.

The Australian Defence Force will fly the Pope to Vanimo and back to Port Moresby, PNG's Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko told the Post-Courier newspaper last month.

Reports in PNG put this side trip down to a connection established five years ago by an Argentinian missionary working in Vanimo, who took a Vanimo group of Catholics to Rome, where they met the Pope, gave him gifts that they had made and sang him local songs.

Father Martin Prado has told local media that the Pope's visit is because he is returning that earlier trip to Rome, and because he identifies with places on the world's periphery.

Father Prado said since 2019 he has kept the lines of communication open and he believes this is why the Pope has chosen to come to such a remote destination as Vanimo.

According to his schedule, the Pope will be in Vanimo for just two and a half hours before flying another three hours back to Port Moresby.

"As PNG is a Christian country, the Pope's visit is also a spiritual visit. It's not only for the Catholics, it's for all Christians," President of the Catholic Bishop Conference (CBC) and Bishop of Bereina, Most Reverend Otto Separy, said in April.

The CBC of PNG and Solomon Islands is also selling the official Papal visit limited merchandise.