The Papua New Guinean (PNG) government has enlisted the help of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to ferry Pope Francis to the remote town of Vanimo in far northwest Sepik province when he tours the country from Sept. 6-9.
“The Australian government has graciously accepted our call for support and will provide an ADF carrier to bring the pope to Vanimo and back to Port Moresby,” PNG foreign minister Justin Tkatchenko told local media.
Pope Francis will fly to Vanimo on Sept. 8 then drive 15 minutes to the tiny and remote town of Baro where he will celebrate Mass, meet local missionaries, witness a performance by school children, and interact with young girls who live in a safe house.
He will return to Port Moresby the same day.
The decision to send an ADF carrier also follows a defence pact struck between Canberra and Port Moresby late last year which is in part aimed at modernizing PNG’s capabilities while the ADF was also responsible for delivering aid after a deadly landslide in May.
PNG’s Post-Courier newspaper reported the ADF had responded with a “resounding yes” following the flight request scheduled for Sept. 8 and is part of a region-wide 12-day papal tour that also includes Indonesia, Timor Leste and Singapore.
A visit to Vanimo is considered important by the Vatican and the pope’s desire for inclusiveness of the peripheries of the Church.
Bishop Francis Meli of Vanimo noted the ‘periphery is the most remote’ adding it was so remote it was unlikely a pope would visit the region ever again.
Security personnel have been conducting dry runs for the flight in and out of the region, gardens have been manicured and banners welcoming the pope have been erected. Much of this was paid for by locals who have appealed for government funds to help out.
The government says it has disbursed about 10 million kina (about US$2.5 million) to help fund the tour. The pope is traveling with an entourage of about 100 people and 80 journalists.
It was an encounter by the pope with a group of parishioners from Vanimo in 2019 who sang PNG hymns that led to his invitation to the town as part of his commitment to the peripheries. However, the Covid-19 pandemic put the trip on hold.
Father Martin Prado, a missionary with the Institute of the Incarnate World in Argentina, had led the delegation and has formed a friendship with Pope Francis since then.
“He told me then, ‘I could come and visit you’… Now, even though he is old, he still wants to come to PNG and deliver a message of love and faith to our people,” he said.
