Pope Francis: How Singapore prepared for the historic visit

The city's grandest arena has welcomed Taylor Swift and Madonna - now for Pope Francis.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS ElectionUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersHymns, volunteers and sleepless nights: Singapore readies for Pope visitEPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockPope Francis is on a 12-day visit to the Asia-Pacific regionSingapore's grandest arena, which has hosted Taylor Swift and Madonna, is getting ready to welcome an arguably bigger icon - Pope Francis.

The pontiff will celebrate Mass with 50,000 people at the National Stadium on Thursday evening, packing the venue as his 12-day Asia-Pacific tour draws to a close.

The 87-year-old has been to Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea - the visit to the Pacific Island was the furthest he has travelled to meet devotees.

He arrived in Singapore, where less than 10% of the population - around 400,000 people - identify as Catholic, on Wednesday afternoon. The three-day visit includes meetings with government officials, religious leaders and students.

This has been the longest foreign visit of his papacy and given his frail health, volunteers say the visit was unimaginable just a year ago. A spell of illness at the time had made overseas travel difficult, forcing him to cancel a trip to the UAE.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1k3x8mllryo

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