Pope Francis Visits Singapore’s Parliament

Pope Francis started the second day of his Singapore trip with a visit to the nation’s parliament, as dozens of excited passersby filmed from their phones trying to catch a glimpse of the pontiff in his convoy.

The Pope was greeted by Singapore’s President Tharman Shanmugaratnam before entering the building, where rows of ceremonial guards, members of parliament and leaders of the local Catholic church, including Cardinal William Goh, welcomed him.

The Pope was also presented with a specially-grown orchid — the national flower of Singapore — named after him, a practice reserved for heads of state, royalty and celebrities who visit the wealthy city-state.

The pontiff is on the final leg of an ambitious 12-day journey across Southeast Asia and Oceania, the longest trip of his papacy. His two-night stay in Singapore, a global financial hub, will include a speech to the country's political authorities, where he may also address issues such as wealth inequality and climate change.

For many Catholics in Singapore, this will be their first time seeing a pope. The last papal visit was in 1986 when Pope John Paul II stopped by for five hours.

Pope Francis urged political leaders in Singapore, a global financial hub, to seek fair wages for the country's million-plus lower-paid foreign workers, who make up a large part of the workforce.

"I hope that special attention will be paid to the poor and the elderly as well as to protecting the dignity of migrant workers," said the pope, in an address to about 1,000 politicians and civil and religious leaders at the National University of Singapore. "These workers contribute a great deal to society and should be guaranteed a fair wage," he added.

Singapore has about 1.1 million foreigners working with temporary work permits, out of a total workforce of some 2.44 million, according to government figures. Many come from nearby countries such as Malaysia, China, Bangladesh and India.