Pope Francis began an 11-day tour of four island nations across Southeast Asia and Oceania last week, an ambitious trek to faraway corners of the Roman Catholic world.

       His first stop was Indonesia, a country made up of thousands of islands with the largest Muslim population in the world, as well as millions of people following other religions. There, Pope Francis talked about interfaith dialogue and coexistence, praising Indonesia as nurturing harmony between its different ethnicities, languages and religions, which he compared to the country’s rich ecological biodiversity.

       Last Friday, he arrived in Papua New Guinea, where thousands stood along the road from the airport to welcome him. In the resource-rich but largely underdeveloped country, he urged government officials to promote sustainable and equitable development that benefits everyone. He also called for an end to the tribal violence that has plagued Papua New Guinea.

       On Sunday, Francis flew to the remote town of Vanimo, on the country’s Pacific coast, where he was welcomed by about 20,000 worshipers, some of whom had walked for days from rural villages to get a glimpse of him. Sitting on a stage, the pope wore traditional headgear he’d been presented with, an elaborate creation of fur and feathers. Then he stood to bless the huge crowd, as well as the rosaries and plastic bottles of water they had brought along.

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       On Monday, the pope landed in East Timor, a predominantly Catholic nation of 1.3 million, to cheers and fanfare from those gathered to meet him. He commended the country’s progress throughout the two decades since it emerged from a bloody battle for independence from Indonesian rule. The pope left for Singapore on Wednesday, the last stop on his trip.

       Singapore

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       Credit...Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

       Waiting for the arrival of Pope Francis on Thursday.

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