Image caption: Papua New Guinea is preparing its third ever Papal visit. His Holiness Pope Francis arrives in Port Moresby tonight and leaves Monday. Photo credit: NBCTV PNG.
Pasifika TV Media Release
September 06, 2024
Pasifika TV will broadcast highly anticipated Holy Father’s visit to Papua New Guinea
Head of the Catholic Church His Holiness Pope Francis is set to arrive in Papua New Guinea (PNG) today, on a four-day visit to the largest and most populous Pacific island nation.
The Pope’s visit to PNG’s capital city Port Moresby and Vanimo, a remote town in Sandaun Province on the border with Indonesia, is the first since 1995, when Pope John Paul II celebrated the beatification of the nation’s first “blessed” – Peter To Rot.
Pope Francis’ visit is a coup for the people of PNG, where religion is a big part of daily life, and Christianity dominates.
Of the approximately 10.12 million people in PNG (reported by World Bank in 2022), two million are Catholic, says President of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania, Most Rev Anthony Randazzo DD JCL.
Anticipation is high ahead of the visit and after arriving in Port Moresby today, Pope Francis will stay at the Vatican Embassy, before meeting the Governor General of PNG and state leaders at APEC Haus tomorrow.
He will also meet with the bishops of PNG and Solomon Islands in the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians.
On Sunday, he will hold Holy Mass at Sir John Guise Stadium, and spend the day in Vanimo.
Vanimo is a small logging town, 1,000km out of Port Moresby, where Pope Francis will meet in private with a group of missionaries from the Holy Trinity Humanities School in Baro.
The town is isolated from major transport routes, while infrastructure like healthcare, education and business is still developing.
His decision to visit a remote town is being seen as a powerful sign to many dioceses and churches in the world, and is in alignment with the Holy Father’s belief of making marginalised people a priority.
Before farewelling PNG, Pope Francis will connect with young people back in Port Moresby.
State broadcaster, National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) is the official host broadcaster for the visit. This is the second Pope visit that NBC will be covering, the first was when the late Pope John Paul visited in 1984.
NBC’s Acting Managing Director Michael Samuga has confirmed that they are ready to deliver coverage of this historic event and that they will be providing the live feed directly to the Vatican.
Pasifika TV is broadcasting official coverage of the Pope’s visit around the region, in partnership with PNG’s National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC).
Please check with your local Pacific broadcasters how and when to watch.
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