The pope's third trip to Asia and his 32nd trip abroad takes him to two countries with minority Catholic populations, both evangelised by Jesuit missionaries in the 16th century.
ROME, Italy - Pope Francis departed Rome on Tuesday for Thailand and Japan, majority Buddhist countries where the Jesuit pontiff is to plead for interreligious dialogue and nuclear disarmament.The 82-year-old Francis is particularly fascinated by Japan, where in his youth he hoped to be sent as a missionary before a lung operation cut short those plans.
Also on the agenda are private meetings with Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha and King Maha Vajiralongkorn. On Saturday, Francis departs for Japan where the following day he visits Nagasaki and Hiroshima, site of the 1945 atomic attacks by the United States that caused 74,000 and 140,000 deaths, respectively, at the end World War II, and hastened the surrender of Japan.
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