Prime Minister James Marape met with a delegation from Vatican City, discussing arrangement and date for the forthcoming visit by the Head of Catholic Church, Pope Francis to PNG , later this year.
The team was led by Monsignor George Koovakad from the Holy See in Rome visited PNG, had preliminary discussions with the Minister for Foreign Affairs Justin Tkatchenko to map out a plan for this proposed visit later this year.
The team led by Monsignor George Koovakad will visit PNG again in June to finalize dates for the visit by Pope.
The Papal visit is a State visit and will be guided by strict Vatican protocols and security arrangements. This will include taking into consideration the Pope’s advanced age at 87 years and his health condition, including his special needs.
Prime Minister Marape was advised that there was an initial plan for the Pope to visit PNG in 2020 but this was canceled and postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Prime Minister expressed his appreciation that the Holy Father will be visiting Papua New Guinea on the eve of the country’s 49th Independence anniversary.
He said the National Government is happy and ready to welcome him and “make the visit a success”.
It will be the 87-year-old Pontiff’s first visit to the country and the Oceania region.
Pope’s predecessor, the late Pope John Paul II visited PNG twice in 1984 and 1995, becoming the first head of the Roman Catholic Church to visit the country.
Making up approximately 30 percent of the population, the Roman Catholic Church is the largest denomination in PNG.
