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”.
“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 per cent 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.
Pope Francis landed in Papua New Guinea on Friday evening, after a trip to Indonesia, and will stay until Monday.
He will then visit East Timor and Singapore before heading back to Rome on Sep 13. It is his longest overseas trip yet.
Source: CNA
