With a wind of hope at his back and his heart open to dialogue, Pope Francis has arrived in Singapore, the last stop on an apostolic journey that will go down in history as the longest of his pontificate. Departing from Rome on September 2, the Holy Father crossed oceans and nations, bringing his message of peace, rejection of violence in the name of religion, and fraternity to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and East Timor.
Now, in the city-state of Singapore, the Pope faces the final challenge of his trip: to speak to the heart of a multi-ethnic and multicultural community.
The day began in East Timor where the Pope celebrated Mass in private at the Apostolic Nunciature.
At 9:30 a.m. (local time) the Pope met with hundreds of young people in an event that began with the laying of flowers in front of the statue of Mary at the Díli Convention Center, amid smiles, songs and a colorful traditional "tais" scarf placed on his shoulders at the entrance of the congress center.
The pontiff, very animated, spoke in Spanish practically "improvising" and in a lively "dialogue" with the public. The Pope began with the greeting "Daader di'ak" (Good morning), in the Tetum language, one of the two official languages of East Timor along with Portuguese.
His words were followed by the testimonies of four young people and the Pontiff's invitation to "make a mess", a phrase he repeated several times during the meeting.
The Pope invited young people not to lose the enthusiasm of faith and not to give in to the vices "that destroy young people": alcohol, drugs and "so many things that give happiness for half an hour".
Francis called for "no more bullying" to the applause of those present, and referred to the love of grandparents, because children and the elderly are the greatest treasure of society and stressed three things to young people: "freedom, commitment and fraternity".
That is to say that "a young person who is not capable of self-management is dependent, is not free and is a slave of his own desire; and he must know that "being free does not mean doing what he wants".
"Commitment," the Holy Father continued, "must be for the common good" and he stressed the third recommendation, brotherhood: we must be brothers, not enemies, because differences serve to respect one another. "Love is service", he repeated to the young people, highlighting two ideas: "Love and reconciliation" as well as the well-known "make a mess", together with the need for veneration and respect for the elderly.
Outside the center, about 1,500 young people were waiting to greet him, many of them with tears in their eyes.
The Pope said goodbye to East Timor at around 11 o'clock in an emotional ceremony at the international airport of Dili, where thousands of people accompanied the last moments of the papal visit behind the fences.
Singapore: a city-state that embraces the Pope
At 2:15 p.m., the papal flight landed at Changi airport in Singapore. Here, in a city where almost 6 million people live together in a kaleidoscope of cultures and religions, the Pope was received by the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Marek Zalewski, the Ambassador of Singapore to the Holy See and the Minister of Culture and Youth.
The private meeting with members of the Society of Jesus will be held at the St. Francis Xavier Retreat Center, where the Pontiff will reside.
