Pope Francis’ Indonesia visit to connect mosques & cathedrals via ‘Tunnel of Friendship’

The 28.3-metre “Tunnel of Friendship”, connecting the iconic Istiqlal mosque to the Our Lady of the Assumption cathedral, was built by the government in 2020 as a symbol of religious harmony, a theme the global head of the Catholic Church has also emphasised on his travels during his 11-year reign.

The pope is scheduled to participate in an interfaith meeting at the mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia, and to visit the tunnel, which features windows to let in light and inscribed art on the walls but is not yet open to the public.

“It’s extraordinary that the Catholics’ number one figure is coming,” said Nasaruddin Umar, the grand imam of the Istiqlal, whose vast car park is often open to church-goers during major events. “Whatever your religion is, let’s respect our guest.”

Only about 3 per cent of Indonesia’s population of 280 million are Catholic, while nearly 90 per cent are Muslim.

The visit has excited Indonesian Catholics, who have not experienced a papal visit in more than three decades.

“If I could meet him, I could only bow before him. I couldn’t even bring myself to hold his hand,” said Maria Regina Widyastuti Sasongko, a 77-year-old Catholic woman who sells items such as statues and T-shirts bearing the pope’s face.

Indonesia has been visited by two popes before – the first, Pope Paul VI in a 1970 trip to Jakarta and in 1989, Pope John Paul II, who visited Jakarta and four other cities.

Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, Indonesia’s religious affairs minister, said the pope’s visit was a symbol of friendship among people of all religions in Indonesia.

“The pope’s visit makes Indonesia the barometer of peace and a pillar of tolerance,” he said.

Still, Indonesia has had a chequered history with religious harmony.

Catholicism came to