PORT MORESBY: Pope Francis held an open-air mass for tens of thousands of Papua New Guinea’s faithful on Sunday, imploring this nation “at the edge of the world” to draw closer to the Catholic faith.
The 87-year-old pontiff led an estimated 35,000 people in prayer from Port Moresby's main stadium, the latest stop on this gruelling 12-day trip across the Asia-Pacific.
He appeared before a startling mix of green-robed clergy, worshippers in starched Sunday whites, and tribesmen and women in feathered headdresses and reed skirts, who tapped out songs of worship on hourglass-shaped kundu drums.
His homily carried a familiar theme of his papacy -- bringing those on the “periphery” closer to faith, and the vast Catholic Church he leads.
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“Brothers and sisters, you who live on this large island in the Pacific Ocean may sometimes have thought of yourselves as a far away and distant land, situated at the edge of the world,“ he said.
“Today the Lord wants to draw near to you, to break down distances”.
Some had gathered from the early hours of Sunday to make sure they could take part in morning mass.
“You hear the word ‘faithful’. At two o’clock in the morning, people were lining up outside the gate, you know that they are faithful,“ said Jonathan Kassman, 47, an official involved in hosting the event.
Bernard Soari, who travelled from one of Papua New Guinea’s more remote islands to the capital, hoped the pope’s remarks brought “an ocean of feelings”.
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“It strengthens our faith to understand the meaning of love and respect for one another. We are honoured to have the pope visiting our land,“ said the 48-year-old.
More than 90 percent of Papua New Guinea's 12 million residents call themselves Christian, but the religion sits alongside a panoply of local beliefs, customs and rites.
About a quarter of Papua New Guineans are Catholic.
Later on Sunday, the pope will travel even further into the “periphery”, to the remote jungle town of Vanimo, in Papua New Guinea’s northwest.
