Some 600,000 Catholics in Timor Leste, almost half the population of the majority-Catholic country, attended the Mass celebrated by Pope Francis on the evening of Sept. 10.

Pope Francis is the first pope to visit Timor Leste since the country won independence in 2002.

Pope Francis' 12-day trip continued with a visit to the remote city of Vanimo in Papua New Guinea.

Arriving in Papua New Guinea, Pope Francis called for greater efforts toward material development and lasting peace in the rural country, which has been plagued by economic underdevelopment and violence.

On the second leg of his 12-day journey to four countries, Pope Francis will take a six-hour flight Friday morning, Sept. 6, Indonesia to Papua New Guinea, a predominantly Christian country in Oceania.

During his visit to Indonesia, Pope Francis and the grand imam of the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta signed the ”Joint Declaration of Istiqlal 2024,” which aims at “fostering religious harmony for the sake of humanity.”