JAKARTA, Sept 2, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Indonesia readied on Monday to welcome Pope 
Francis, rolling out a papal stamp, a large billboard and a life-sized cutout 
of the pontiff before his arrival in the world's most populous Muslim-
majority nation.

The pope begins the longest and farthest journey of his papacy on Monday 
afternoon, spending three nights of a 12-day trip in the Indonesian capital 
Jakarta before heading to Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.

Indonesian authorities were getting the traffic-clogged megalopolis of 11 
million into shape before the 87-year-old's landing on Tuesday for the high-
profile visit, which is set to be dominated by inter-faith ties.

They closed or changed routes at the major locations he will visit -- the 
international airport, Jakarta cathedral, the presidential palace, the 
national football stadium and Istiqlal Mosque, where he will give an address.

A new billboard declaring "Welcome Pope Francis" and the slogan "Faith, 
Fraternity, Compassion" has been put up in central Jakarta.

Outgoing President Joko Widodo said last week he would try to be by the 
pope's side as much as possible during the visit.

"If it is possible, I will accompany him," he told reporters.

At Jakarta cathedral, the country's top Catholic place of worship, devotees 
took photos on Monday with a newly installed life-sized cutout of Francis.

Pope signboards and religious drawings by schoolchildren were also put up.

People queued at the site to buy two papal stamp designs, launched by the 
government to celebrate the visit.

The special stamps will set postal users back 63,000 rupiah ($4) for a sheet 
of 18.

But foreign tourists and worshippers were being turned away later Monday as 
organisers closed the cathedral to the public before his visit.

The cathedral sits across from Southeast Asia's largest mosque, with the two 
connected by a newly built 'tunnel of friendship'.

A security detail of around 4,000 personnel will protect the pope, including 
snipers, soldiers, police and his security team.

Indonesia recognises six official religions -- Islam, Protestantism, 
Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism.

The independent Jakarta Post newspaper ran an editorial on Monday hailing his 
'Papal Message of Hope' and called on "people of all faiths" to "listen to 
his wisdom" on interreligious matters.

Francis will be the third pope to visit Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,500 
islands, after Paul VI in 1970 and John Paul II in 1989.