Pope travels from one of the world's poorest countries to one of the richest: Singapore
Pope Francis is heading to Singapore for the final leg of his Asian trip
SINGAPORE (AP) — Pope Francis flew to Singapore on Wednesday for the final leg of his trip through Asia, arriving in one of the world’s richest countries from one of its poorest after a record-setting final Mass in East Timor.
After a brief farewell ceremony, Francis, the Vatican delegation and journalists traveling with him flew to Singapore aboard local carrier Aero Dili's only aircraft, an Airbus A320. It landed about three hours later in Singapore, where Francis had no public events scheduled for the rest of the day.
Francis wrapped up his visit to East Timor with a rally Wednesday morning of its young people, who make up the majority of the 1.3 million population. He urged them to work together to build their young country, using the foundations of older generations who formally secured their independence from Indonesia in 2002, to grow in peace, prosperity and reconciliation.
“Go forward with the happiness of youth, but don’t forget one thing,” Francis told them. “You are the heirs of those who persevered in founding this nation. For this, don’t lose your memory, the memory of those who persevered with so much sacrifice to consolidate this nation.”
