‘Like Jesus’ presence’: Over 80,000 attend Pope’s mass in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Only rock stars and presidents can usually fill Indonesia’s national stadium, but on Thursday, September 5, it was octogenarian Pope Francis who drew more than 80,000 fans to a Catholic Mass in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.

The event was the high point of the 87-year-old Pope’s four days in the capital, Jakarta, on the first stop of a 12-day tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania, with visits to East Timor, Singapore and Papua New Guinea.

“The...