Pope to visit South Korea in August, Vatican says

Pope Francis blesses the altar during Ash Wednesday at Santa Sabina Basilica in Rome March 5, 2014. REUTERS/Max Rossi

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis will make his first trip to Asia in August, visiting South Korea for a festival of Asian Catholic youth, the Vatican said on Monday. Francis will be in South Korea August 14-18, the Vatican said, without giving details of his schedule. The Sixth Asian Youth Day is due to take place in the diocese of Daejeon from August 10 to August 17. The leader of the 1.2 billion member Roman Catholic Church, who was elected nearly a year ago, visited Brazil last July and is due to make a trip to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories in May. The late Pope John Paul visited South Korea twice. (Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Hugh Lawson)