MONGOLIA, THE FOCUS OF POPE FRANCIS’ 43RD TRIP ABROAD
When Pope Francis departs at 6:30 pm this evening for the 9 and a half hour flight to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, it will be his 43rd trip abroad since his election in March, 2013. Francis has visited visited 12 countries in the Americas, 11 in Asia and 10 in Africa, including seven countries that no previous pope had visited. It seems there remain 34 countries that no pope has ever visited.
Mongolia, described as the world’s most sparsely populated sovereign country, is an immense landlocked nation bordered by China and Russia, known for its vast expanses and nomadic culture.
In this Buddhist-majority country, Christianity is only 1.3% of the 3.3 million population. Pope Francis is the first pope to visit Mongolia whose Catholics number almost 1,500. He will be in Mongolia until September 4.
Last Sunday at the Angelus, the Holy Father said he will “embrace a Church small in numbers but vibrant in faith and great in charity,” arriving as “a brother to all”.
The only Pope to visit an even smaller Catholic population was John Paul II when he went to Azerbaijan in 2002. Popes always reside only in ecclesial buildings – the nuncio’s residence, a bishop’s residence, seminary, etc., but John Paul had to stay in a hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan. There was no bishop in Azerbaijan, therefore no bishop’s residence! At the time, there were only about 120 Catholics in the country! In 2011, an Apostolic Prefecture was instituted that oversees the Catholic Church in the country.
Mongolia also has an Apostolic Prefecture – the prefecture of Ulaanbaatar. An apostolic prefecture is “a ‘pre-diocesan’ missionary jurisdiction where the Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have a diocese.” Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, 49, a missionary in Mongolia for 20 years, created a cardinal by Francis in August 2022, is the apostolic prefect in Ulaanbaatar.
Rest assured that both of Mongolia’s neighbors, China and Russia, will be paying close attention to the papal trip and to Pope Francis’ speech on arrival on September 1 to Mongolia’s civil leaders and the local diplomatic corps, including officials from Russia, China, and North Korea.
Many are prudently asking: Was this trip planned with a strong diplomatic and geopolitical emphasis?
As the days go on, we shall see…
Also on the papal agenda are interreligious dialogue and a Mass for the country’s small Catholic population. Pope Francis’ motto for the trip is “Hoping Together.”
CARDINAL PAROLIN: POPE VISITS MONGOLIA AS “A PILGRIM OF HOPE FOR WHOLE WORLD”
In an interview with Vatican Media, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin describes Pope Francis’ upcoming Apostolic Visit to Mongolia as a journey to confirm the country’s “small and lively” Catholic community and to strengthen the ties between the Holy See and the Asian nation.
Mongolia is ready to embrace a Pope for the first time in its history, and “expectations are high”.
In an interview with Vatican Media, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, thus described the enthusiasm with which the small Catholic community of the Asian country is preparing to welcome the Holy Father.
In his 43rd Apostolic Journey, Pope Francis will be in the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, on 1-4 September, in a nation that borders Russia and China and is five times the size of Italy with a population of around 3.3 million inhabitants.
Central to understanding the trip is the motto: “Hoping together,” because, as Cardinal Parolin explains, there is such a great need for hope, “a hope that is not an empty expectation, but that is based, at least for us Christians, on faith, that is, on the presence of God in our history, and that, at the same time, is transformed into personal and collective commitment.” FOR FULL Q&A: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-08/cardinal-parolin-pope-francis-mongolia-pilgrim-hope-whole-world.html
MONGOLIAN AMBASSADOR: POPE’S VISIT PROMOTES PEACE IN THE REGION
As she looks forward to welcoming Pope Francis to her country, Mongolia’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Ms. Gerelmaa Davaasuren, expresses gratitude for the historic visit, which she says will showcase Mongolia on the global stage and promote interfaith dialogue and respect for diverse beliefs, “a great contribution to maintaining peace and stability in our region and the world.”
The Mongolian Ambassador to the Holy See presented her credentials to Pope Francis in December 2022, 30 years after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Mongolia.
That anniversary was marked in the Vatican when a delegation of Mongolian Buddhists paid an unprecedented official visit to the Vatican and was received by Pope Francis. FOR MORE: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-08/pope-mongolia-apostolic-visit-ambassador-holy-see-peace-interfai.html
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