His first engagement is tomorrow at an official welcoming ceremony.
ULAANBAATAR: Pope Francis, who is sometimes received as a superstar on trips abroad, arrived in Mongolia today to the joy of its tiny Catholic community but with his presence barely making a ripple in the overwhelmingly Buddhist country.
At the airport, a woman in traditional dress offered the pope solid yogurt, a customary Mongolian gesture of welcome, before he was wheeled past an honour guard wearing ornate blue and red uniforms and holding rifles. Well-wishers greeted the pope, some putting on a brief song and dance performance, when he arrived at his destination in the city centre.“I’m very thankful for his visit. We have been waiting for this moment for such a long time. He shook my hand twice. I’m so excited.”
As is customary, Francis, who besides being the leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics is also a head of state, wired greetings to the leaders of each country he flew over, including China, with which the Vatican has had difficult relations.
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