Pope Francis left Rome on Monday for Jakarta, where the 87-year-old leader of the global Catholic Church will start an ambitious 12-day tour to four countries in Southeast Asia, Reuters reports.
The flight carrying the pope and his entourage left Fiumicino airport for an overnight flight of more than 13 hours to the Indonesian capital.
The pope will be in Indonesia until Friday. He is then scheduled to visit Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore before returning to Rome on Sept. 13.
Francis, who has stressed the importance of environmental issues throughout his 11-year papacy, is expected to urge global action on climate change during the voyage.
