Immediately following his trip to Lisbon for World Youth Day, Pope Francis will travel to the Republic of Mongolia from August 31 to September 4 for his 43rd international trip.
The Pope will spend the 4 days in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. During the visit, he will meet with the President of Mongolia, the Prime Minister, priests and religious.
On September 3, Pope Francis will participate in an Ecumenical and Interreligious Meeting in the city theater.
This is the first time in history a pope has visited the country of Mongolia—one that's Catholic history is fairly young. The first Catholic mission was established just 31 years ago. Today, there are about 1,300 Catholics, less than 1% of the population.
Last year, Pope Francis appointed the first cardinal to the country, Italian Giorgio Marengo, who serves as the country's administrator of the Catholic Church.
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