Pope Francis to Make Historic Apostolic Visit to Mongolia in 2023

Fr. Jinu Jacob, Vatican City

Pope Francis is making an apostolic visit to Mongolia, a land of climate contradictions, from August 31st to September 4th, 2023. Pope Francis is making his forty-third international apostolic journey to Mongolia. Mongolia is a very small country that shares borders with Russia and China, with very few Catholics. Only 1300 people have been baptized in the Catholic community. Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican Communications Office, said that details of the trip would be announced in the coming days.

With temperatures above forty degrees in summer and below -40 degrees in winter, Mongolia is the second least populated country in the world. Pope Francis’ desire to visit the country, where one-third of the population is below the poverty line, is coming true through this apostolic journey.

The geo-political importance of this mission country on the border of Russia and China is also worth mentioning. The whole world is hoping that the Pope’s visit will lead to his paying special attention to this region of the world and finding non-violent and sensible solutions to his efforts for peace.

Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, underlined that the theme of interreligious dialogue, peaceful coexistence and mutual assistance between advocates of different faiths is a daily reality in the Asian continent, the cradle of the world’s great religions, and therefore the Pope’s visit is a great hope.