Pope Francis in Mongolia

Less than a month ago, Pope Francis made global headlines for a Mass in Portugal that attracted a crowd of over 1.5 million attendees. Here in Mongolia, on Sept. 3, the pontiff turned his attention to a local church that boasts fewer than 1,500 Catholics in the entire country.

With one neighbor actively waging war and the other becoming an increasingly totalitarian state, Pope Francis praised Mongolia's commitment to charting a different course through democracy and diplomacy in pursuit of peace.

Pope Francis on Sept. 1 arrived in Mongolia, becoming the first pope to visit the vast country with one of the world's smallest Catholic populations, nestled between Russia and China — two nations with complicated Vatican relationships.

By visiting the vast nation of only 3.3 million inhabitants, with one of the world's smallest Catholic communities, Pope Francis, in his distinct way, will put Mongolia on the map.  

Pope Francis travels to the periphery of Roman Catholicism later this summer when he becomes the first pontiff to visit Mongolia, a Central Asian nation squeezed between Russia and China with just 1,500 Catholics.