Pope Francis, who is sometimes received as a superstar on trips abroad, arrived in Mongolia on Friday to the joy of its tiny Catholic community but with his presence barely making a ripple in the overwhelmingly Buddhist country.
The plane carrying Francis and his entourage landed after a night flight of nearly 10 hours, and the pope, who is 86 and in need of a wheelchair, was resting for the remainder of the day.
Apart from Mongolian and Vatican flags on poles on the highway, and traffic backed up by the passing of his motorcade, there were barely any signs that the pope was in town. Talking to reporters on the plane from Rome, Francis said he was looking forward to visiting even just one part of the vast country, said it had a "a small population but with a great culture".
Francis, in his message to Chinese President Xi Jinping, said he had good wishes for all the people of China and assured the president of his prayers for the "wellbeing of the nation".
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