Pope Francis completed an exhausting 12-day journey around the Asia-Pacific region on Friday, overcoming health concerns to engage with Christians in everything from Singapore’s skyscrapers to the jungles of Papua New Guinea.
The 87-year-old pope will return home from Singapore in a matter of hours, having made the longest and furthest journey since ascending to the position of head of the estimated 1.4 billion Roman Catholics worldwide over 13 years ago.
Since 2022, the Argentine pope has been reliant on a wheelchair due to sciatica and knee problems. In June 2023, he underwent surgery for a hernia, and earlier in the year, he suffered from pneumonia and the flu.
But the octogenarian has clearly revelled in energising believers on this four-nation trip — cheerfully goading young people in stadiums to shout out their agreement with his calls to help those in need.
The historic tour, initially planned for 2020 but postponed by the Covid-19 pandemic, has included 43 hours of flight time and a distance of 32,000 kilometres (almost 20,000 miles).
The pope has occasionally looked as though he finds it difficult to focus during formal military parades or to keep his eyes open during late-night liturgical readings.
However, the pace of his global tour—16 speeches and up to eight hours of time difference—the heat, or the numerous meetings have not necessitated a postponement.
