East Timor Airline provides Pope with prayers before take-off

On the way to Singapore, the last stop on his longest foreign trip to date, Pope Francis was given some unusual airplane reading. The small airline Aero Dili from East Timor provided all passengers of the papal delegation with a prayer card before take-off in the capital Dili. Printed on it were requests for divine assistance for six major faiths. The three-and-a-half-hour flight was completely free of turbulence.

For the Catholics on board and their 87-year-old leader, it read: "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen. We ask You to grant us a safe journey, with good and pleasant weather. Give us the guidance of Your holy angels, including the flight crew, to bring us safely to our destination. We also ask that our family, whom we have left behind, be comforted in peace until we can finally be in contact with them again."

There were also prayer formulas for Protestant Christians, Muslims and followers of Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism. According to the crew, the prayer cards are part of Aero Dili's standard equipment. The airline in this very Catholic country only has one larger aircraft, an Airbus A 320.

As a rule, the Pope flies with an airline of the respective nation when traveling abroad. On Friday, Francis returns to Rome from his twelve-day trip.

SDA