Holiday Ayo - Pope Francis will visit Indonesia in the near future. Based on the information gathered, the Pope will arrive in Indonesia on September 3, 2024. 

On the agenda of his visit to Indonesia, Pope Francis is said to want to get to know religious life in the country. The Archbishop of Jakarta, Ignatius Cardinal Suharyo, revealed that interfaith brotherhood is a concern for Pope Francis. 

Therefore, the Istiqlal Mosque is one of the places that will be visited by world Catholic figures as well as the leaders of the Vatican.

“I often hear stories about this, the Pope wants to respect our nation state and of course the interfaith community respects and encourages brotherhood like this to continue to be maintained and developed," said Ignatius Suharyo, Wednesday (28/8). 

“In particular, the Vatican wants to learn a lot about Islam in Indonesia. Therefore, often when there are events at the Vatican, many Indonesian Islamic leaders are invited and expected to speak," he continued. 

Because, according to the Archbishop, there is a view that Islam in Middle Eastern countries and Indonesia is different. 

“Because Islam in Indonesia is different compared to Islam in Pakistan, or in the Middle East, it is interesting for our brothers in Europe, especially for the Vatican, which has special attention to religious communities," he said. 

Furthermore, Ignatius said that interfaith brotherhood has indeed been one of the Vatican's focuses so far. Because, at the Vatican there is a Department of Interreligious Relations which every time there is a holiday, it always gets a greeting from Pope Francis. 

“So dialogue like that, good relations like that are what we want to appreciate with his presence and are needed," he added.