The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis will travel to Thailand from November 20 to 23 and Japan from November 23 to 26, with stops in Tokyo, Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Pope Francis will be the second pope to visit both countries after St John Paul II who visited Thailand in 1984 and Japan in 1981.
The papal visit to Thailand coincides with the 350th anniversary of the establishment of the Apostolic Vicariate of Siam in 1669. The theme of Pope Francis’ visit is “Disciples of Christ, Missionary Disciples”. The Pope is expected to preside at religious ceremonies and make pastoral visits to the Catholic communities.
In Japan, the apostolic journey will centre on the protection of life and creation, and will highlight the Pope’s call for complete nuclear disarmament. Two of the places he will visit – Hiroshima and Nagasaki – were hit by US atomic bombs at the end of World War II. Last year, Pope Francis had the Vatican print up thousands of cards showing a child survivor of the Nagasaki nuclear bombing carrying his dead brother on his back. The card had the words “The fruit of war” printed on it.
The Pope’s visit to Nagasaki will also highlight the legacy of Christian missionaries during the samurai era, including 26 who were martyred in 1597, and honour the so-called “Hidden Christians” who kept the faith alive during decades of persecution.
Both Japan and Thailand have small Catholic communities. Japan, whose main religions are Buddhism and Shintoism, has about 441,000 Catholics comprising fewer than 1 per cent of the overall population, while the Catholic community in Thailand represents less than 0.5 per cent of the mostly Buddhist population.
This will be Pope Francis’ fourth trip to Asia. His past Apostolic Journeys have included South Korea, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Myanmar and Bangladesh. In each of these countries, Pope Francis held private conversations with his Jesuit brothers. During his visit to Myanmar in 2017, Pope Francis told the Jesuits to “be deeply grounded, rooted in the love of God”.
Source: Crux News