Jakarta: Pope Francis presided over a grand Mass at Gelora Karno (GBK) Stadium in Jakarta, late Thursday afternoon, where he was received by over 87,000 Catholics.

The Mass which was attended by Catholics from several regions across Indonesia, began around 5 p.m. local time.

Pope Francis arrived at the GBK complex at 4 p.m. and was greeted by President Joko Widodo and his aides who had arrived earlier.

After shaking hands and having a brief conversation with Widodo, the Holy See leader proceeded to ride a modified Indonesia-made Maung MV3 car with an open roof to greet the people who had gathered at Madya Stadium.

He continued his trip toward the GBK Main Stadium, where thousands of Catholics chanted his name in Italian.

“Viva il Papa! Viva Papa Francesco! (Long Live the Pope! Long Live Pope Francis!),” roared the congregants flocking Indonesia’s largest football stadium.

The grand holy Mass was the peak of Pope Francis’ visit to Indonesia.

He expressed his gratitude to all Indonesians for their warm w
elcome during his visit.

“Thank you to the people of Indonesia,” he remarked as he concluded a grand holy Mass.

He earlier met with Widodo at Merdeka Palace, greeted Catholic figures at the Jakarta Cathedral, and joined an interfaith dialogue at Istiqlal Mosque.

Francis is visiting Indonesia as part of his apostolic journey to the Asia-Pacific.

The 12-day visit, which began on Sept. 3 and will end on Sept. 13, is the longest visit the Pope has ever undertaken in 11 years of papacy.

Pope Francis is the third Vatican leader to pay a visit to Indonesia, following Pope Paul VI in 1970 and Pope John Paul II in 1989.

The esteemed religious figure will stay in Indonesia until tomorrow before proceeding to Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore.

Source: Philippines News Agency