Pope Francis is travelling to Mongolia at the end of the summer, a trip that will be a first for a pontiff and one of great geopolitical importance given its proximity to Russia and China.
The Vatican on Saturday confirmed an Aug. 31-Sept. 4 visit to the US-allied country between Russia and China, two countries the pope has never visited.
The visit comes when Francis tries to adhere to a diplomatic line in his relations with the two countries: with Moscow, Francis to prod Russia and Ukraine for talks to end the war, Seeking an opening for a peace messenger.
With China, the Vatican has seen a breach of a 2018 landmark agreement on bishop nominations, with Beijing making decisions unilaterally.
Francis will serve a small Christian community in Mongolia, focusing on visiting far-flung Catholics on the periphery of the Church’s main centres of influence.
According to statistics from the Catholic non-profit Aid to the Church in Need, Mongolians are 53% Tantric Buddhist, 39% atheist, 3% Muslim, 3% Shaman and 2% Christian.
Mongolia has attempted to maintain its political and economic independence from its Soviet-era patron Moscow – which supplies almost all of its energy needs – and rising regional power China, which accounts for more than 90 per cent of its mining exports. Buys coal and copper from.
