Pope Francis to visit Mongolia at end of August

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis will make an Aug. 31-Sept. 4 trip to Mongolia, one of the most far-flung places he has ever visited and which has fewer than 1,500 Catholics but is strategically significant for the Roman Catholic Church because of its long border with China.

The Vatican announced the trip in a brief statement on Saturday, saying it was being made at the invitation of the country’s president and Catholic leaders. Details would be announced in the next few weeks, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.

Last August, Francis named Archbishop Giorgio Marengo, an

Italian, the first cardinal to be based in Mongolia, where he is

the Catholic Church’s administrator.

Marengo was in Rome last month and met with the pope to discuss the trip.

Francis first spoke of the possibility of going to Mongolia

in a conversation with reporters aboard the papal plane

returning from a trip to Africa in February.

(Writing by Philip Pullella and Keith Weir; Editing by Toby Chopra)