Twenty-four hours after the announcement by the Vatican Press Office of the apostolic journey that will see Pope Francis in Mongolia between 31 August and 4 September, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher set off for the Asian country. This mission, which has been on the agenda for some time, is part of the framework of bilateral relations between the Holy See and Mongolia. It is scheduled to wrap up on Tuesday.

On Monday the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and with International Organizations engaged series of meetings with Mongolian authorities, including the Foreign Minister, Mrs B.Battsetseg and the country’s Premier, L.Oyun-Erden.

The Vatican representative held talks with Mongolian President U.Khurelsukh before visiting the Chinggis Khan National Museum, a modern building inaugurated last year that exhibits more than 12,000 historical artefacts offer a wide-ranging perspective on Genghis Khan’s empire and subsequent ones.