Thirteen more days before His Holiness, Pope Francis will set foot in Papua New Guinea, starting with Port Moresby and then to Vanimo in West Sepik Province. The 6th - 9th of September 2024 are the fixed dates that the Catholic Bishops Conference (CBC) has confirmed this week during a press conference in which the Pope will be present in the country during that time. Papal Visit General Coordinator, Fr. Lawrence Arockiaraj stated that upon his arrival, His Holiness will arrive at Jackson’s International Airport at 7PM and will be welcomed by Deputy Prime Minister, John Rosso and Foreign Minister, Justin Tkatchenko. From there, he will then be transported to the Vatican Embassy where he will reside. The following day, which is the 7th of September, he will pay a visit to the Governor General residence and from there will proceed to visit government officials, including the PNG Council of Churches and Pacific Island leaders at the APEC Haus. Followed by that, he will be meeting with the Street Ministry and Kallan Services children at Caritas Technical Secondary school then to Don Bosco Technical Institute (DBTI) to meet with the religious, catechists, bishops, priests, pastoral workers and seminarians. “On Sunday the 8th we will the main event at Sir John Guise Stadium with a capacity of 5, 000 allocated spaces and on at the main soccer field, 9 to 10, 000 allocated spaces. The main outdoor stadium comprises of the general public, VIPs, government officials, priests and religious members including those taking part such as 500 communion ministers, choir and other members of the church.” “After the mass is over, the Pope will then leave for Vanimo and return in the afternoon the same day. On Monday the 9th of August, he will have a final meet with all the youths at the same stadium before he departs back home.” For the main event itself, Fr. Lawrence stated that CBC and the Archdiocese are currently working together to involve all those outside of the city to join in, especially from the diocese of Bereina and Kerema. “We have different committees in logistics, finance, media, and youths with sub-committees. This is to assist people in surrounding areas of the dioceses of Port Moresby including Bereina and Kerema to attend.” “We have diocese coordinators who communicate with me so that we can give a chance for everyone to come.” Fr. Lawrence also announced that 80% of the accreditation has been done including, the common ground, media, VIPs, church and government officials as well as people involved in church activities with the assistance of the Department of Information & Communication Technology (DICT) where people were able to register online. In addition to this, parishioners from different catholic parishes throughout Port Moresby, were also given forms to fill in by their respective parish priests so that they can be registered for the mass on Sunday. “For those who have registered to attend, will be given wrists bands to wear upon arrival and can proceed inside the stadium. This is especially for the common ground area where the people will be allocated and as for the VIPs from the churches and government members, they will be issued a different pass and invitation letters to attend the service.” Meanwhile, a total of 88 international media will be arriving with the Pope where they will reside at Hilton Hotel. Also attending the Papal’s visit will see bishops, cardinals and Pacific leaders who are yet to confirm their attendance. Furthermore, a total of 4, 000 marshals have been training with the police officers to make sure the visitation of the Pope is properly secured and done in an orderly manner. For those unable to attend within the stadium's premises, can watch on the big screens arranged by NCDC and installed outside near the stadium for others to watch. The program of the Pope’s visit will also include the Blessing of the Sick.