BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Pope Francis’ go to to Southeast Asia, the longest journey in his papacy, is the most recent in many years of normal papal visits to the Asia-Pacific area.
Papal journey is a factor of the trendy period, beginning with Pope Paul VI, who turned the primary pontiff to go away Italy in additional than 150 years when he made his well-known pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1964, shortly after changing into pope.
His subsequent go to was to India later that very same yr, marking the primary time a pope had ever visited Asia. It was certainly one of many firsts for Paul VI, who was additionally the primary pope to fly in an airplane, the primary to go away Europe and the primary to go to international locations on six continents, incomes him the nickname “the Pilgrim Pope.”
Pope Paul VI drives by way of the gang in his white jeep as he arrives on the Oval Grounds in Bombay, India, Dec. 4, 1964. (AP Photograph)
Others by Paul VI, in keeping with the Vatican, included a 1970 journey with stops in Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ceylon — at this time Sri Lanka — and the Philippines, the place a would-be murderer unsuccessfully tried to stab him at Manila airport.
His successor, Pope John Paul I, by no means obtained the prospect to journey, dying simply over a month after he ascended to the papacy.
However Pope John Paul II, who adopted in 1978, picked up the place Paul VI left off and by the point of his demise in 2005, was essentially the most traveled pope in historical past; a title he holds to today.
He made his first of two visits to the Philippines, certainly one of Asia’s most Catholic international locations, in 1981 in a visit that additionally took him to Pakistan, Guam, Japan and Anchorage, Alaska, in keeping with the Vatican.
Shizu Katayama, a 79 yr previous survivor of the A-bomb that destroyed Nagasaki in 1945, waves a Japanese flag at visiting Pope John Paul II, Thursday, February 26, 1981. (AP Photograph/Neal Ulevich, Pool)
Over time he would go to Asia many instances, together with journeys to South Korea, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, East Timor, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.
In a notable second from his 1986 journey to India, he was accompanied by Mom Teresa to her residence for the poor in Kolkata, assembly and blessing its residents. Experiences on the time mentioned the pope was visibly moved by the go to, and Mom Teresa later known as it “the happiest day of my life.”
John Paul II additionally visited Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific island nations of Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
His successor, Benedict XVI, turned pope at a complicated age and didn’t journey as continuously or as far afield, however did go to Australia in 2008 for World Youth Day, in keeping with the Vatican.
Francis, who took over from Benedict after he resigned in 2013 because of declining well being, has already been to the Asia-Pacific area a number of instances, with visits to international locations together with South Korea, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Thailand, Japan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia.
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A storm Haiyan survivor wears a message for Pope Francis as he waits for the motorcade of Pope Francis to move by on the spotlight of his pastoral go to within the devastated metropolis of Tacloban, Leyte province in central Philippines Saturday, Jan.17, 2015. (AP Photograph/Bullit Marquez, File)
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FILE- A person lifts a large masks of Pope Francis off his head as he waits outdoors Apostolic Nunciature Embassy of the Holy See in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. (AP Photograph/Manish Swarup, File)
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FILE- A life-size portrait of Pope Francis is lit on the entrance of the media tent outdoors the Manila Resort in Manila, Philippines, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. (AP Photograph/Wally Santana)
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FILE- A nun holds rosary beside a booklet exhibiting an image of Pope Francis as they await his arrival on the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Manila, Philippines on Friday, Jan. 16, 2015. (AP Photograph/Aaron Favila)
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FILE- The devoted cheer as they look ahead to the arrival of Pope Francis at Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015. (AP Photograph/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
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FILE- A Sri Lankan Catholic holds a portrait of Pope Francis and awaits his arrival, on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015. (AP Photograph/Eranga Jayawardena, File)
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FILE- A cut-out image of a standee of Pope Francis is surrounded by Filipino military reservist and volunteers throughout a briefing as a part of safety preparations for the go to of Pope Francis at Camp Aguinaldo navy headquarters in suburban Quezon metropolis, north of Manila, Philippines on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015. (AP Photograph/Aaron Favila, File)
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FILE- Employees put together to put in a tarpaulin poster welcoming Pope Francis Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015 in Manila, Philippines. (AP Photograph/Bullit Marquez, File)
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FILE- Nuns greet Pope Francis as he arrives for a closing Holy Mass of the sixth Asian Youth Day at Haemi Fort in Haemi, South Korea, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2014. (AP Photograph/Kim Hong-Ji, Pool)
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FILE- Tear rolls down the cheek of a Catholic devotee as Pope Francis delivers a prayer on the church of Our Girl of Madhu in Madhu, Sri Lanka,Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. (AP Photograph/Eranga Jayawardena, File)
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FILE- Worshippers pray throughout a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis at Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015. (AP Photograph/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
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FILE- College students observe flipping boards with pictures to disclose a full-mosaic portrait of Pope Francis earlier than a Holy Mass at Nationwide Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. (AP Photograph/Sakchai Lalit, File)
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FILE- Younger boys dressed because the Swiss Guard relaxation as they look ahead to the arrival of Pope Francis on the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Manila, Philippines, Friday, Jan. 16, 2015. AP Photograph/Wally Santana, File)
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FILE- Contributors look ahead to Pope Francis’ Holy Mass at Tokyo Dome Monday, Nov. 25, 2019, in Tokyo. (AP Photograph/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
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FILE- Trustworthy react as they see Pope Francis leaving in a automotive after a gathering with charity staff and the inauguration of the Home of Mercy in Ulaanbaatar, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023. (AP Photograph/Ng Han Guan, File)
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FILE- The devoted attend a Mass held by Pope Francis at a baseball stadium Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019, in Nagasaki, Japan. (AP Photograph/Gregorio Borgia, File)
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A storm Haiyan survivor wears a message for Pope Francis as he waits for the motorcade of Pope Francis to move by on the spotlight of his pastoral go to within the devastated metropolis of Tacloban, Leyte province in central Philippines Saturday, Jan.17, 2015. (AP Photograph/Bullit Marquez, File)
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A storm Haiyan survivor wears a message for Pope Francis as he waits for the motorcade of Pope Francis to move by on the spotlight of his pastoral go to within the devastated metropolis of Tacloban, Leyte province in central Philippines Saturday, Jan.17, 2015. (AP Photograph/Bullit Marquez, File)
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FILE- A person lifts a large masks of Pope Francis off his head as he waits outdoors Apostolic Nunciature Embassy of the Holy See in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. (AP Photograph/Manish Swarup, File)
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FILE- A person lifts a large masks of Pope Francis off his head as he waits outdoors Apostolic Nunciature Embassy of the Holy See in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. (AP Photograph/Manish Swarup, File)
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FILE- A life-size portrait of Pope Francis is lit on the entrance of the media tent outdoors the Manila Resort in Manila, Philippines, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. (AP Photograph/Wally Santana)
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FILE- A life-size portrait of Pope Francis is lit on the entrance of the media tent outdoors the Manila Resort in Manila, Philippines, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. (AP Photograph/Wally Santana)
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FILE- A nun holds rosary beside a booklet exhibiting an image of Pope Francis as they await his arrival on the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Manila, Philippines on Friday, Jan. 16, 2015. (AP Photograph/Aaron Favila)
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FILE- A nun holds rosary beside a booklet exhibiting an image of Pope Francis as they await his arrival on the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Manila, Philippines on Friday, Jan. 16, 2015. (AP Photograph/Aaron Favila)
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FILE- The devoted cheer as they look ahead to the arrival of Pope Francis at Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015. (AP Photograph/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
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FILE- The devoted cheer as they look ahead to the arrival of Pope Francis at Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015. (AP Photograph/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
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FILE- A Sri Lankan Catholic holds a portrait of Pope Francis and awaits his arrival, on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015. (AP Photograph/Eranga Jayawardena, File)
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FILE- A Sri Lankan Catholic holds a portrait of Pope Francis and awaits his arrival, on the outskirts of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015. (AP Photograph/Eranga Jayawardena, File)
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FILE- A cut-out image of a standee of Pope Francis is surrounded by Filipino military reservist and volunteers throughout a briefing as a part of safety preparations for the go to of Pope Francis at Camp Aguinaldo navy headquarters in suburban Quezon metropolis, north of Manila, Philippines on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015. (AP Photograph/Aaron Favila, File)
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FILE- A cut-out image of a standee of Pope Francis is surrounded by Filipino military reservist and volunteers throughout a briefing as a part of safety preparations for the go to of Pope Francis at Camp Aguinaldo navy headquarters in suburban Quezon metropolis, north of Manila, Philippines on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015. (AP Photograph/Aaron Favila, File)
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FILE- Employees put together to put in a tarpaulin poster welcoming Pope Francis Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015 in Manila, Philippines. (AP Photograph/Bullit Marquez, File)
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FILE- Employees put together to put in a tarpaulin poster welcoming Pope Francis Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015 in Manila, Philippines. (AP Photograph/Bullit Marquez, File)
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FILE- Nuns greet Pope Francis as he arrives for a closing Holy Mass of the sixth Asian Youth Day at Haemi Fort in Haemi, South Korea, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2014. (AP Photograph/Kim Hong-Ji, Pool)
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FILE- Nuns greet Pope Francis as he arrives for a closing Holy Mass of the sixth Asian Youth Day at Haemi Fort in Haemi, South Korea, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2014. (AP Photograph/Kim Hong-Ji, Pool)
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FILE- Tear rolls down the cheek of a Catholic devotee as Pope Francis delivers a prayer on the church of Our Girl of Madhu in Madhu, Sri Lanka,Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. (AP Photograph/Eranga Jayawardena, File)
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FILE- Tear rolls down the cheek of a Catholic devotee as Pope Francis delivers a prayer on the church of Our Girl of Madhu in Madhu, Sri Lanka,Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. (AP Photograph/Eranga Jayawardena, File)
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FILE- Worshippers pray throughout a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis at Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015. (AP Photograph/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
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FILE- Worshippers pray throughout a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis at Rizal Park in Manila, Philippines, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015. (AP Photograph/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
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FILE- College students observe flipping boards with pictures to disclose a full-mosaic portrait of Pope Francis earlier than a Holy Mass at Nationwide Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. (AP Photograph/Sakchai Lalit, File)
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FILE- College students observe flipping boards with pictures to disclose a full-mosaic portrait of Pope Francis earlier than a Holy Mass at Nationwide Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019. (AP Photograph/Sakchai Lalit, File)
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FILE- Younger boys dressed because the Swiss Guard relaxation as they look ahead to the arrival of Pope Francis on the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Manila, Philippines, Friday, Jan. 16, 2015. AP Photograph/Wally Santana, File)
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FILE- Younger boys dressed because the Swiss Guard relaxation as they look ahead to the arrival of Pope Francis on the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Manila, Philippines, Friday, Jan. 16, 2015. AP Photograph/Wally Santana, File)
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FILE- Contributors look ahead to Pope Francis’ Holy Mass at Tokyo Dome Monday, Nov. 25, 2019, in Tokyo. (AP Photograph/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
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FILE- Contributors look ahead to Pope Francis’ Holy Mass at Tokyo Dome Monday, Nov. 25, 2019, in Tokyo. (AP Photograph/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
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FILE- Trustworthy react as they see Pope Francis leaving in a automotive after a gathering with charity staff and the inauguration of the Home of Mercy in Ulaanbaatar, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023. (AP Photograph/Ng Han Guan, File)
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FILE- Trustworthy react as they see Pope Francis leaving in a automotive after a gathering with charity staff and the inauguration of the Home of Mercy in Ulaanbaatar, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023. (AP Photograph/Ng Han Guan, File)
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FILE- The devoted attend a Mass held by Pope Francis at a baseball stadium Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019, in Nagasaki, Japan. (AP Photograph/Gregorio Borgia, File)
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FILE- The devoted attend a Mass held by Pope Francis at a baseball stadium Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019, in Nagasaki, Japan. (AP Photograph/Gregorio Borgia, File)
In his 2017 go to to Myanmar, also called Burma, Francis famously met with Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Ky i, the democratically-elected chief who was ousted within the navy in 2021, which has given rise to at this time’s civil battle.
This time his Sept. 2-13 journey takes him to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.
Of attention-grabbing historic observe: the final pope to have left Italy earlier than Paul VI was Pius VII, although he did so involuntarily.
Captured by French forces in Rome in 1809, Pius VII had been captive for 3 years when the French emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, ordered him moved close to Paris in 1812. As Napoleon’s empire crumbled, he was launched and returned to Rome in 1814.
Pope Paul VI presents the Golden Spur of the Knights of Christ, the very best Vatican ornament that may be conferred upon non-Christians, to Indian President, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan in Bombay, India, Dec. 3, 1964. (AP Photograph/File)
Pope John Paul II and Emperor Hirohito of Japan discuss throughout their 40 minute assembly on the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, February 24, 1981. (AP Photograph/File)
Pope John Paul II blesses a couple of million Filipinos at beatification rites in Manila for 16 Catholic martyrs together with Filipino Lorenzo Ruiz, Feb. 18, 1981. (AP Photograph/Neal Ulevich, File)
Pope John Paul II is greeted by Papua New Guinea Highland natives on his go to to Mt. Hagen, New Guinea, Tuesday, Could 8, 1984. (AP Photograph/File)
Pope John Paul II, his again to the digital camera, raises his arms in salute to the massive crowd as he arrives to say mass at municipal stadium in Kwangju, South Korea, Friday, Could 4, 1984. (AP Photograph/Claudio Luffoli, File)
Pope John Paul II holds a koala bear throughout a viewing of Australia’s fauna in Brisbane, Tuesday, Nov. 25, 1986. (AP Photograph/Giulio Broglio, File)
Pope John Paul II rides in a three-wheeled bicycle rickshaw on the Vatican Mission in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Nov. 19, 1986. (AP Photograph/Arturo Mari, File)
Pope John Paul II waves as he arrives for Sunday Mass in Seoul’s Yeouido Plaza, Oct. 8, 1989. (AP Photograph/Massimo Sambucetti)
Pope John Paul II shakes fingers with flag-waving native college students upon his arrival in Dili, East Timor, Oct. 12, 1989. (AP Photograph/Bullit Marquez, File)
The bullet-proof car carrying Pope John Paul II is surrounded by Filipinos waving their arms in greeting because it enters the grounds of the College of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines, Jan. 13, 1995. (AP Photograph/Bullit Marquez, File)
Pope John Paul II, middle, evaluations an Indian Honor Guard in the course of the official welcoming ceremonies on the Rashtrapati Bhavan, or the presidential palace in New Delhi, India Saturday, Nov. 6, 1999. (AP Photograph/Jerome Delay, File)
Pope John Paul II provides the Eucharist to Indian schoolgirls Sunday, Nov. 7, 1999, on the Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. (AP Photograph/Jerome Delay, File)
Pope Benedict XVI waves from his pope cell as he arrives at Bangaroo for his official World Youth Day welcome in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, July 17, 2008 (AP Photograph/Mark Baker, File)
Pope Benedict XVI kisses a child from his pope-mobile on his arrival for the Ultimate Mass at Randwick Racecourse throughout World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, Sunday, July 20 2008.(AP Photograph/Rob Griffith, File)
Pope Francis prays in entrance of the birthplace of Saint Andrea Kim Dae-gun on the Solmoe Sanctuary in Dangjin, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 15, 2014. (AP Photograph/Issei Kato, Pool)
A devotee stretches out his hand to the touch the hand of Pope Francis, who arrives to carry a Mass at Colombo’s seafront Galle Face Inexperienced for the canonization ceremony of Joseph Vaz, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. (AP Photograph/Saurabh Das)
Pope Francis stands throughout Mass at Colombo’s seafront Galle Face Inexperienced for the canonization ceremony of Joseph Vaz, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. (AP Photograph/Saurabh Das, File)
Pope Francis holds a picture of Santa Teresa offered by a journalist as he leaves after his press convention on his flight from Sri Lanka to Manila, Philippines, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015. (AP Photograph/Alessandra Tarantino, Pool)
Pope Francis, in car, waves to the devoted as he arrives at Rizal Park to have fun his closing Mass in Manila, Philippines, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015. (AP Photograph/Wally Santana, File)
Pope Francis waves to Filipinos upon his arrival in Manila, Philippines, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015. (AP Photograph/Aaron Favila, File)
Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, left, reveals Pope Francis find out how to give the favored hand signal for “I like you” on the Mall of Asia area in Manila, Philippines, Friday, Jan. 16, 2015. (AP Photograph/Wally Santana, File)
Pope Francis meets Myanmar’s chief Aung San Suu Kyi on the Worldwide Conference Centre of Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Nov. 28, 2017, file picture. (AP Photograph/Andrew Medichini, File)
Pope Francis is carried on a conventional Bangladesh rickshaw as he arrives at an interfaith and ecumenical assembly for peace within the backyard of the archbishop’s residence, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. (AP Photograph/Andrew Medichini, File)
Pope Francis delivers a speech throughout a gathering of spiritual leaders on the Chulalongkorn College, Friday, Nov. 22, 2019, in Bangkok, Thailand. (AP Photograph/Gemunu Amarasinghe, File)
Monks, spiritual seminarians and Catechists contact the fingers of Pope Francis as he leaves after assembly them at Saint Peter’s Parish on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Nov. 22, 2019. (AP Photograph/Manish Swarup)
Pope Francis caresses a toddler in Popemobile as he arrives for Holy Mass at Tokyo Dome Monday, Nov. 25, 2019, in Tokyo. (AP Photograph/Gregorio Borgia, File)
Pope Francis meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the Kantei Monday, Nov. 25, 2019, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photograph/Gregorio Borgia, File)
Pope Francis leaves in a automotive the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Cathedral in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, after a gathering with the native clergy. (AP Photograph/Andrew Medichini, File)
Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, left, and Pope Francis meet, Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, in entrance of a huge statue of former Khagan of the Mongol Empire Genghis Khan in Sukhbaatar Sq. in Ulaanbaatar. (AP Photograph/Ng Han Guan, File)
