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On his trip to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore, the Pope will meet with the leaders of the local churches. Here are the cardinals who will greet him in their respective jurisdictions.
Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, Archbishop of Jakarta (age 74)
Cardinal Suharyo, as archbishop of the Indonesian capital, will be the first to receive the pontiff. The most important figure among his country’s Catholic minority, he has proved to be a key player in dialogue with other religions, notably with Islam, the majority religion.
Born into a large Catholic family in Java, he studied at the minor seminary and then at the major seminary of Jakarta, before receiving ordination in 1976. He was then spotted by his bishop, Cardinal Justin Darmojuwono, who sent him to study in Rome.
On his return, he embarked on a brilliant academic career at the Catholic University of Jakarta. Then, in 1997, Pope John Paul II entrusted him with the Archdiocese of Semarang. In 2010, he took over from Cardinal Darmaatmadja as head of the Jakarta diocese, a position that often serves as an interface with the country’s authorities. He is a promoter of the interreligious brotherhood advocated by Pope Francis, who elevated him to the cardinalate in 2019.
Julius Riyadi Darmaatmadja, Archbishop Emeritus of Jakarta (age 89)
In Jakarta, Pope Francis may also meet with Cardinal Riyadi Darmaatmadja, former archbishop of the city. A Jesuit like the pope, he’s also a great advocate of dialogue with Muslims. He’s now 89 years old and retired, and he suffers from blindness, which prevented him from taking part in the last conclave in 2013. He hasn’t been a cardinal elector since 2014.
John Ribat, Archbishop of Port Moresby (age 67)
At the airport in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea, Pope Francis will be greeted on the tarmac by Cardinal John Ribat, the local archbishop. Born into a Catholic family, Cardinal Ribat’s vocation was sparked in his early youth by contact with German and Austrian missionaries. After having considered becoming a Franciscan, he finally joined an order particularly present in his country, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. After training in the Philippines and carrying out apostolate in Fiji, he was appointed bishop of the diocese of Bereina by John Paul II in 2000.
Benedict XVI made him Archbishop of Port Moresby in 2007. He stands out for his attention to social issues. This is especially important in his country where a large proportion of the population lives in poverty and where tensions, particularly ethnic ones, have been high in recent years. He has headed the Oceania Bishops’ Conference. At the Vatican, he is best known for his commitment to environmental issues. Pope Francis created him a cardinal in 2016 — the first in the country’s history.
Virgilio Do Carmo Da Silva, Archbishop of Dili (56)
At his next stop, East Timor, Pope Francis will be welcomed by the archbishop of the capital Dili, Cardinal Virgilio Do Carmo Da Silva. This Salesian, the first Timorese to receive the cardinalate, is particularly committed to education. He’s a key figure in this small country, one of the most Catholic in the world. Ordained a priest in 1998, he studied in Rome for seven years before serving as superior of his national Salesian province in 2015-2016.
Pope Francis appointed him head of the Diocese of Dili in 2016, which became an archdiocese in 2021. The pontiff then created him cardinal in 2022. As soon as he arrived, the prelate had to deal with the crisis following the revelation of abuses committed by his predecessor, Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo. Another Salesian, Belo was Apostolic Administrator of the diocese between 1988 and 2002, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 for his work in defense of the Timorese people during the Indonesian occupation.
Cardinal Do Carmo Da Silva has remained very silent on this sensitive issue, as his predecessor is still considered a hero of the country’s independence by the Timorese.
William Goh Seng Chye, Archbishop of Singapore (67)
For the final leg of his trip, the Pope will visit the city-state of Singapore, an archdiocese Cardinal Goh has headed since 2013. This former banker, born into a Catholic family, joined the seminary late in life. He continued his training in Rome until his ordination to the priesthood in 1985. He then worked for a long time in the educational field, notably in the Singapore seminary, before Pope Francis asked him to become archbishop.
Highly committed to youth ministry and interreligious dialogue, he is also an opponent of the death penalty, which is still practiced in Singapore. He is also concerned about the secularization of the world, which he sees as responsible for the fragmentation of societies and the rise of relativism.
And today we celebrate...