Pope Francis to start Mongolia trip in Ulaanbaatar
Pope Francis is due to arrive in Ulaanbaatar on Friday morning in a startup trip to Mongolia, the first by a pope to the East Asian country.
The head of the Catholic Church is scheduled to rest after his arrival after a long flight from Rome, and plans to start his official schedule only on Saturday.
The pope is set to meet with Mongolian leaders, public figures and representatives of civil society.
Francis is the first pope to visit the landlocked country, which lay between Russia and China.
Immediately after his arrival, he is to be officially welcomed at Genghis Khan Airport and spend the remainder of the day resting.
The 86-year-old planned to stay in the East Asian country until Monday.
His meeting with the Mongolian leadership would be on Saturday.
He would then give his first talk and meet with the clergy.
There were only about 1,500 Catholics in Mongolia out of a population of more than three million.
The main religions in the country are Buddhism and shamanism.
Francis aimed to bolster the small Catholic community and promote dialogue between the religions during his visit.
A meeting of representatives of several religions is scheduled for Sunday. (dpa/NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Cecilia Odey/Chioma Ugboma
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