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.
In context
Also in 1288 (3 other events on record)
- Tran Hung Dao crushes Mongols at Bach Dang · Southeast Asia · War
- Acre's last tournaments held · Middle East · Culture
- Mongol attack on Sakhalin indigenous peoples · East Asia · War
Before and after in East Asia
Before and after in Religion
Era
High Middle Ages (1000–1300), one of 1,306 events from that era on Saeculum.
Sources