As he usually does following an apostolic visit, Pope Francis dedicated the general audience of September 18, 2024, to his recent trip, the longest of his pontificate both in terms of days and distance.
The 266th Pope offered a “first reflection” from his trip to the other side of the world:
A first reflection that comes naturally after this journey is that in thinking of the Church, we are still too Eurocentric, or as they say, “western.” But in reality, the Church is much bigger, much bigger than Rome and Europe, much bigger! And also, if I may say so, much more alive, in those countries.
Reviewing the four countries he visited, Francis began with Indonesia, where Catholics represent a tiny minority of just 3%.
But what I encountered was a lively, dynamic Church, capable of living and transmitting the Gospel in a country which has a very noble culture, inclined to harmonize diversity, and at the same time has the largest Muslim presence in the world.
Recalling his second stopover in Papua New Guinea, in the Pacific Ocean, he paid tribute to the catechists and missionaries working in that land. He also praised the country’s youth.
There, the diverse ethnic groups speak over 800 languages – 800 languages are spoken there – an ideal environment for the Holy Spirit, who loves to make the message of love resonate in the symphony of languages. What the Holy Spirit makes is not uniformity, it is symphony, harmony; He is the patron, He is the master of harmony.
There, in a particular way, the protagonists have been and still are the missionaries and catechists. I rejoiced to be able to stay a while with the missionaries and catechists of today; and I was moved to listen to the young people’s songs and music: in them, I saw a new future, without tribal violence, without dependency, without ideological and economic colonialism; a future of fraternity and care for the wondrous natural environment.
The Pope was enthusiastic about the world’s most Catholic country, East Timor, which was his third stop. Speaking of how the Church has accompanied the people in their still recent independence, he said:
Faith must be inculturated and cultures must be evangelized. Faith and culture. But above all, I was struck by the beauty of the people: a people who have endured much but are joyful, a people wise in suffering. A population that not only bears a lot of children – there was a sea of children, so many, eh? – but also teaches them how to smile. I will never forget the smile of the children of that land, of that region. The children there smile all the time, and there are many of them. That faith teaches them to smile, and this is a guarantee for the future. In short, in Timor-Leste I saw the youthfulness of the Church: families, children, young people, many seminarians and aspirants to consecrated life. I would like to say, without exaggeration, that I breathed the “air of springtime” there!
Finally, the Pope noted that the last stop on this trip, Singapore, is “a city-State, ultra-modern, an economic and financial hub for Asia and beyond.”
There, Christians are a minority, but they nonetheless form a lively Church, engaged in fostering harmony and fraternity between the various ethnicities, cultures and religions. Even in wealthy Singapore there are the “little ones,” who follow the Gospel and become salt and light, witnesses to a hopegreater than what economic gains can guarantee.
At the start of the audience, the Pope drew laughter from the faithful when he introduced a couple getting married next Saturday, joking that they are “suicidal.”
Today I would like to begin with some good news: I would like to present two suicidal people to you: these two are getting married next Saturday! A round of applause for them!
It is beautiful to see when love leads us on to form a new family: this is why I wanted to present these two to you, to give thanks to the Lord.
And today we celebrate...