Pope Francis to visit Mongolia: a visit full of symbols

2023-06-03T22:51:57.363Z

Highlights: The pontiff will make an apostolic journey to Mongolia, a country in Central Asia, from August 31 to September 4. A trip that combines both missionary priorities for the head of the Catholic Church and geopolitical interest for the Holy See. For the first time in history, a pope will visit Mongolia, three times the size of France, where the Catholic community does not exceed 1,500 souls. The pope's visit will also come almost a year after Francis' other trip to Central Asia to Kazakhstan.

The pontiff will make an apostolic journey to Mongolia, a country in Central Asia, from August 31 to September 4, becoming the first pope to set foot on the land of this former communist country.

Pope Francis to visit Mongolia: a visit full of symbols

The pontiff will make an apostolic journey to the Central Asian country of Mongolia from August 31 to September 4, becoming the first pope to set foot on the land of this former communist country. A trip that combines both missionary priorities for the head of the Catholic Church and geopolitical interest for the Holy See.

Pope Francis speaks during an audience with pilgrims from Concesio and Sotto il Monte, June 3, 2023, at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The pope will visit Mongolia at the end of August, where 1,300 Catholics live, the Vatican announced. AFP - TIZIANA FABI

Text by: RFI Follow

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With our correspondent in Rome, Éric Sénanque

For the first time in history, a pope will visit Mongolia, a country, three times the size of France, where the Catholic community does not exceed 1,500 souls, but which is very committed to the social field.

It was in 1992 that the Holy See and the Central Asian country established diplomatic relations, a year after the fall of the communist bloc. It was also the year that the first Catholic missionaries arrived in the country.

Proof of the interest of the Mongolian steppes in Pope Francis, the Italian Giorgio Marengo, apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar, the capital, was created cardinal last summer, becoming at 48 the youngest member of the college of cardinals.

In addition to the message of a Church turned towards the "peripheries", which Francis has been promoting since the beginning of his pontificate, this apostolic journey also has a very symbolic geopolitical dimension for the Holy See, in a Mongolia located on the borders of Russia and China.

The pope's visit will also come almost a year after Francis' other trip to Central Asia to Kazakhstan.

Pope Francis to visit Mongolia: a visit full of symbols

Pope Francis to visit Mongolia: a visit full of symbols

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