The 11-day trip, which earlier took him to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and East Timor, is the longest for the 87-year-old pontiff since becoming head of the Catholic Church in 2013. Francis will be the second pope to visit Singapore, after a five-hour stopover by the late John Paul II in 1986.

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE – On Day One of Pope Francis’ visit to the Asia-Pacific, I called him “Your Holiness”, unsure of how he would react if I misspoke. But on Day 12 – the last day of moving as a unit of about 150 as part of his entourage – “Papa Francesco” and “Santita” are no longer awkward terms for me.

Pope Francis encouraged Christians in Singapore on Thursday to hold "constructive dialogues" with people of other faiths during the last leg of his Asian-Pacific trip, the longest of his papacy.