The Garuda Indonesia plane carrying the pope and his entourage arrived in Port Moresby, the Papua New Guinean capital, where he will stay for the next three nights.

The pontiff, departing the plane using his wheelchair, was met on the tarmac by Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso and senior members of the Catholic Church in the country.

Local children presented him with gifts as a military band played the anthem of the Vatican.

After the brief ceremony at the airport, Francis headed to the Vatican embassy for the evening. His first public event in the country will be an address to political leaders on Saturday morning.

While in PNG Francis will make a day trip to the northwestern town of Vanimo, before departing the country on Monday. He is then scheduled to visit East Timor and Singapore before returning to Rome on Sept. 13.