Pope Nicholas IV sends missionaries to China

1288

The Franciscan friar John of Montecorvino departed for the court of the Yuan emperor, carrying papal letters and a burning desire to convert the Mongols. He would reach Khanbaliq by 1294, build churches, translate the Psalms into Mongol, and become the first Catholic archbishop of Beijing. His mission established a fragile Catholic presence in China that would last until the collapse of the Yuan dynasty.