Christopher White

"It's often when Francis is on the road that he's able to underscore the simplicity that he expects from church leaders," writes Christopher White, NCR's Vatican correspondent. 

During Pope Francis' four-country visit to Asia and Oceania, world leaders were eager to echo the pontiff's focus on combating climate change, calling for commitments to greater global action. 

The pope's rejection of single-issue voting — consistent with his previous teachings on how Catholics should engage in politics — stands in contrast to the official position of the U.S. bishops' conference that declares abortion to be the "preeminent priority" for Catholic voters.

Catholics from China, Vietnam and Malaysia who attended Pope Francis' Sept. 12 Mass in Singapore are hoping the pontiff might also become the first pope to visit their respectives countries, as well. 

Pope Francis on Sept. 11 landed in Singapore, the world's most religiously diverse country, where he is expected to encourage the country's small but growing Catholic community and to continue his push for pluralism on the Asian continent.

More than 600,000 Timorese attended Pope Francis' history-making Mass in Dili on Sept. 10. 

Pope Francis on Sept. 9 arrived on the small island of East Timor where he issued a broad condemnation of abuse, but stopped short of specifically addressing the church's complicated record on clergy sex abuse in a nation that is the most Catholic country in the world, outside of the Vatican.

On Sept. 8, Pope Francis visited the remote town of Vanimo, Papua New Guinea, using his ambitious two-week tour in Asia and Oceania to put a spotlight on the Catholic Church in the peripheries. 

Pope Francis, during his first full day in Papua New Guinea on Sept. 7, was confronted with the myriad of challenges facing women in both the church and society. 

Pope Francis on Sept. 6 arrived in the South Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea, marking the start of his first ever visit to Oceania, where he will spend the next three nights in one of the most dangerous cities in the world.

In a historic encounter at Asia's largest mosque, Pope Francis and Indonesia's grand imam Nasaruddin Umar signed a joint declaration on Sept. 5 calling on religious leaders to deepen their cooperation in order to fight climate change and dehumanization. 

More than 100,000 Catholics gathered for Mass with Pope Francis in Muslim-majority Indonesia on Sept. 5. 

Pope Francis on Sept. 4 delivered a sharp warning that "distortion of religion" fuels extremism, intolerance and violence and urged Indonesia to double down on its long tradition of coexistence and social harmony during the first full day of his nearly two-week tour of Asia and Oceania. 

Pope Francis on Sept. 3 kicked off an 11-day swing through southeast Asia and Oceania that is likely to test the physical limits of the 87-year-old pontiff.

Pope Francis will visit four countries in Asia and Oceania Sept. 2-13 – his longest trip as pope. It could cement his own legacy on his priorities inside the church and attract the attention of the wider world.

While the synod study groups are expected to present preliminary findings on women deacons in October, it remains unclear what the Vatican's doctrinal office plans to make public. 

As Francis gets some much-needed rest inside Vatican walls ahead of the longest international trip of his papacy in September, three potential future popes are having their own moment in the spotlight.

 Under past popes he was sidelined. But Pope Francis has entrusted Fr. Timothy Radcliffe to serve as the spiritual guide of the synod on synodality. 

The Vatican on July 14 expressed "concern" over the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump and said the attack "wounds people and democracy, causing suffering and death." 

Many of the hot button issues that dominated Pope Francis' high stakes summit on the future of the Catholic Church last October, such as women deacons and welcoming LGBTQ Catholics, will be off the table when prelates and lay delegates return to Rome this October.