Pope Francis announced Sunday that he will begin a multi-day visit to Mongolia on Thursday for an apostolic visit as “a brother to all.”
“Next Thursday I will leave for a trip of several days to the heart of Asia, to Mongolia,” the Pope told the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square for prayer and the Angelus blessing.
“This is a long-awaited visit and it will be an opportunity to embrace a Church small in number, but alive in faith and great in charity,” he continued.
“It will also be an opportunity to meet up close with a noble and wise people, with a great religious tradition, whom I will have the honor of meeting, especially in the context of an interreligious event,” Francis added.
Addressing the “Mongolian brothers and sisters” directly, the Pope said he was “happy to travel to be” among them “as a brother to all”.
“I thank your authorities for the kind invitation and all those who prepare my arrival with great commitment,” added the Pope, who asked everyone to accompany him in prayer on this journey.
Francis will become the first Pope to visit that Asian country.
Mongolia is a country of about 3.4 million people and the 2010 national census reports that among Mongoians over the age of 15, 53% are Buddhist and 39% say they have no religious faith.
The same census reveals the existence of just over a thousand Catholics and there are three churches in the capital, Ulaanbaatar.
Source: TSF
