Pope Francis To Visit Mongolia At End Of Summer In Visit Rich In Geopolitical Significance

Pope Francis is traveling to Mongolia at the end of the summer, a visit that will be a first for a pontiff and one rich in geopolitical significance given its proximity to Russia and China.

The Vatican on Saturday confirmed the Aug. 31-Sept. 4 trip to the landlocked U.S-allied country sandwiched between Russia and China, two countries popes have never visited.

Francis will be ministering to a tiny Christian community in Mongolia, part of his focus on visiting far-flung Catholics on the peripheries of the church’s main centers of influence. According to statistics by the Catholic nonprofit Aid to the Church in Need, Mongolia is 53% Tantric Buddhist, 39% atheist, 3% Muslim, 3% Shaman and 2% Christian.

Mongolia has strived to maintain its political and economic independence from both its Soviet-era patron Moscow — which supplies virtually all of its energy needs — and rising regional power China, which buys more than 90% of its mining exports, mainly coal and copper.