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[Source<\/a>]<\/p>\n Pope Francis arrived in Singapore on Wednesday, marking the final leg of his 12-day tour across Southeast Asia and Oceania that has drawn attention to the Catholic Church\u2019s role in promoting interfaith dialogue. The pope<\/a>, who earlier visited Indonesia<\/a>, Papua New Guinea and East Timor<\/a>, will focus on meeting political leaders and delivering a mass expected to gather around 55,000 people.<\/p>\n Significance of the visit:<\/b> This is the second-ever papal visit to Singapore, Asia\u2019s richest nation, after a brief stop<\/a> by Pope John Paul II in 1986. Cardinal William Goh highlighted the importance of the pope’s message on human dignity, inclusiveness and interreligious dialogue, noting, \u201cSingapore and the Holy See share a common interest in promoting interfaith dialogue and understanding.\u201d Singapore is a nation of diverse faiths<\/a>, with 26% identifying as Buddhist, 18% as Muslim, 17% as Christian, 8% as Hindu, 6% as followers of Chinese traditional religions and 4% as others, including Indigenous religions. Demographically, the country<\/a> is 74.2% Chinese, 13.7% Malay and 8.9% Indian, with others making up 3.2%.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n What\u2019s next:<\/b> On Thursday, the pope will meet with Singapore\u2019s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, followed by the public mass at the National Stadium. His messages are expected to center on interfaith harmony, wealth inequality and climate change. Local Buddhist fintech worker Erik Hon told AFP<\/a> that he hopes the pope\u2019s visit will \u201cspread the message of love, peace, and unity to all stripes of humanity.\u201d The pope\u2019s Asia-Pacific visit comes as the Vatican renegotiates its agreement with China<\/a> over the appointment of bishops.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Download the NextShark App:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n