By Br. Luke Thatsaworn Nonthiboot FSC
Pope Francis’ visit to Singapore from 11-13 September 2024 was a time of great joy and thanksgiving for the Roman Catholics of sunny Singapore. It has been 38 years since Pope St. John Paul II visited Singapore on 20 November 1986. It fulfilled the theme of his visit and brought the “Unity and hope” for the local Catholic faith and mission.
11 September 2024, he arrived in Singapore from Dili, Timor-Leste with Vatican staff and officials to be greeted by a thousand Catholics at the airport. He held a private meeting with the members of the Society of Jesus at the St. Francis Xavier Retreat Centre in the evening of the same day.
On the following morning, he received an official welcome by the President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong before a guard of honour parade at Parliament House. At about 10:30 am, he headed for the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Cultural Centre theater for a meeting with "authorities, civil society and diplomatic corps." Mr. Tharman and Pope Francis both delivered speeches at the state address at NUS. Pope Francis praised the city-state's inclusive and harmonious policies amid a highly diverse multicultural and multireligious society. At the same time, he cautioned that meritocracy may lead some to be marginalised for which the state could be mindful of.
In the afternoon at about 4:30 pm, he arrived at the National Stadium to celebrate Holy Mass with 50,000 Catholics and more viewing the livestream of the Mass. He made a tour around the stadium pitch to greet people before Mass started, with many children brought to him for his blessing. His homily praised the gleaming architecture of the state and he reminded the congregation of the importance of love behind the impressive buildings he saw in Singapore. He alluded to the migrant workers that have built the city and that care must be taken for their welfare.
His final day 13 September 2024, morning, he celebrated a private Mass with the priests and religious followed by a visit to a group of elderly people at St. Theresa’s Home.
For the last event of his visit, he held an inter-religious dialogue with youths at Catholic Junior College before leaving Singapore. He appeared particularly re-energised when he interacted with the youth with their questions and praised the inter-religious dialogue with youths of different religions, the close collaboration of the different religious leaders in Singapore including the positive policy of the government in this aspect as a model for others to emulate.
