87-year-old Pope praises ‘dynamic church’

Pope Francis was received with open arms wherever he went on his recent Apostolic Journey to Southeast Asia and Oceania. It was his longest and most challenging trip ever, taking the 87-year-old pontiff 32,000 kilometres by air to four countries from 2 to 13 September.

He visited the country with the world’s largest Muslim population – Indonesia, with about 242 million – and the country with the highest percentage of Catholics outside the Vatican itself – East Timor, with some 98 per cent.