Pope arrives in Japan, fulfilling
decades-old missionary dream
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| Pope Francis disembarks from the Papal plane in Tokyo |
Pope Francis arrives at Tokyo's Haneda airport at the start
of his Apostolic Journey to Japan, following the path Pope St John Paul II trod
38 years ago.
By Devin Watkins – Tokyo, Japan
It’s a well-known fact that Pope Francis has harbored
an ardent desire to become a missionary to Japan ever
since he was a young man.
“Over time, I felt the desire to go as a missionary to
Japan, where the Jesuits have always carried out a very important work,” he was
quoted as saying in the book “El Jesuita”, published in 2010.
Fr Jorge Bergoglio requested an assignment to the East Asian
nation as a young Jesuit in Argentina.
Today he made that dream became a reality.
Missionary to Japan
Pope Francis arrived at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Saturday
evening, becoming the second Pope to visit Japan.
His predecessor, Pope St John Paul II, came here in 1981,
and left a lasting mark on the local Catholic Church.
That visit helped change the way Japanese people viewed the
Church’s role in society. The Polish Pope visited Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and both
Tokyo Dome and Sophia University during his historic visit.
Mirror image of JPII’s visit
Pope Francis’ visit 38 years later mirrors that itinerary closely.
He travels to Nagasaki and Hiroshima on Sunday, and spends
Monday and Tuesday in Tokyo, where he will visit the same Jesuit-run university
and celebrate Mass at the Tokyo Dome.
If the coverage given in Japanese media is any indication,
most Catholics are sure that Pope Francis’ missionary visit will have a lasting
impact on both the country and the local Church.
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