Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
by Gianni Valente
Less than three years ago, Peter's successor came to visit them in Ulaanbaatar, even traveling in a wheelchair. Now, some of them have come from there to visit Peter, venerate his memory, and also greet his new Successor. In total, there are 26 people, including their bishop, the missionary Cardinal Giorgio Marengo. Among them are Cecilia, from the Prefecture's media office, and Amanda, head of the spirituality house. Also present is Amaraa, a driver who does everything, and Zulaa, the cook. In addition, there is the treasurer Andrea, a Salesian brother from Vietnam, and the Korean priest Peter Hong with the 10 parishioners of St. Mary's Church. A small remnant of the the Catholic community in Mongolia, almost 1,500 souls scattered among those 3.5 million fellow Buddhists, Muslims, and non-believers. From June 15 to 18, they made their Jubilee pilgrimage to the Eternal City, passing first through Turin and then arriving in Assisi. A journey to the apostolic sources of the Church of Rome, undertaken by the sons and daughters of a small and young missionary Church. Days tinged with gratitude, full of many surprising experiences with a reality in which they were also able to recognize something familiar.
One does not become a Christian alone
Before leaving Ulaanbaatar, the pilgrims had studied the history and treasures of Rome's four papal basilicas, thus preparing themselves to better understand everything they were about to see and hear. Their first fraternal encounter in the Italian capital took place with the parish community of St. Jude Thaddeus, a Roman church dedicated to the apostle of the same name, located in the Appio Latino neighborhood and entrusted to Cardinal Giorgio Marengo. After Mass, they shared a communal lunch in a fraternal atmosphere. In that environment, the simple and profound faith of the Mongolian Catholics made itself felt with clear and direct words, full of apostolic authenticity. "To bring the message of Jesus to Mongolia," explained Rufina Chamingerel, "the Church did not send parcels of books, but people, like living books."
Saint Peter came from Jerusalem to Rome, where he was martyred. "The Gospel comes from outside," Pope Leo recalled last Saturday, evoking the figure of Saint Irenaeus, the great theologian who came from Asia Minor and died a martyr as Bishop of Lyon. Rufina echoed that same thing today: "We could not have converted to Christianity on our own if the missionaries had not arrived. The faith has reached us because missionaries, both men and women, have arrived here too."
On Sunday afternoon, led by Cardinal Marengo, the Mongolian pilgrims visited the Basilicas of St. John Lateran and St. Mary Major - Rome's Bethlehem - which houses the relics of the Nativity of Jesus, the icon of the mary Salus Populi Romani, and now the remains of Pope Francis. "At one point," Rufina recalled, "Pope Francis wanted to come to Mongolia in person. He, who was the Pope, wanted to visit us as a missionary. His presence among us moved us deeply and gave us great comfort in the faith."
Peter's Tomb and Pope Leo
During the visit to St. Peter's Basilica, Cardinal Giorgio Marengo led his Mongolian friends to the tomb of the Apostle Peter to pray together. There, in the heart of a memory guarded for almost two thousand years, they savored the intimate spiritual affinity that unites the small Christian community of Mongolia with the heart of the Church of Rome and with the events recounted in the Acts of the Apostles: words, gestures, joys, and tribulations of those who saw Jesus and lived with Him. Rufina, like Cecilia and many other Mongolian converts, bears the name of a Roman martyr from the early centuries. Her name was suggested by a nun after having told her the story of the young Rufina, daughter of Senator Astrius, killed along with her sister Secunda during the persecutions of Emperor Valerian. What awakened in her the desire to be baptized, she recalls today, were the parish priest's homilies: "He described a life and a reality that I felt I had longed for since I was a child. Now I am on my way. In the first steps, one experiences the enthusiasm of the beginning. Then, little by little, I realize that it is necessary to ask each day to begin again." "We must live our daily lives in faith, with all their challenges. The important thing is that I perceive more and more clearly the dialogue between my daily life and faith."
Thus, in Mongolia too, the mystery of hearts that become Christians happens again by grace. In the young Church of the Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar, a precious experience is quietly blossoming for the entire universal Church, which today more than ever needs to recognize itself as nascent and humbly look back on the origins of Christianity.
Even Pope Leo was able to embrace the witness of these new Catholics and find solace in their faith when he welcomed the Mongolian pilgrims on Tuesday, June 17, at the Apostolic Palace.
"We were very happy to meet Pope Leo. "We recalled the dimension of the Church in Mongolia as a 'nascent Church,' as Pope Francis had also described it," Cardinal Giorgio Marengo told Fides. "It was beautiful to recall with him Pope Francis's trip to Mongolia. We thanked our Mongolian faithful present during this pilgrimage for their witness of faith, knowing that for them, the choice to become Christians is not at all easy. We asked Pope Leo to pray for us and asked him to come to Mongolia too."
The Mission of the Church and prayer for the Novena
On Wednesday, June 18, the pilgrims from Mongolia met with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, at the historic Palace of Propaganda Fide.
The experience of the small ecclesial community in Mongolia seems to be able to provide valuable insights for the entire Church, beginning with those who, by virtue of their condition and vocation, are more directly involved in the apostolic and missionary work of the Church. This is what emerges from the words and images used by Rufina, head of the Pastoral Office of the Apostolic Prefecture in Ulaanbaatar, when asked about her work. "We support Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, the missionaries, the parishes; we help them continue their service, taking into account what is needed day by day, moment by moment." Sometimes it is a matter of finding a small prayer, writing a brief catechesis, doing a translation, or preparing a meeting," she explains.
The daily effort consists of recognizing what ecclesial life needs, grasping real needs, and trying to respond to them. "In recent weeks," Rufina continues, giving concrete images of her daily work, "we have mobilized so that all the parishes in the prefecture share the same prayers for the Pentecost Novena."
These are simple initiatives, inspired by the shared treasure of the universal Church, that nourish the faith of a growing community. This same simplicity is also revealed in the requests of the faithful. “Those who have recently converted to Christianity always ask us for simple, essential things for their journey in faith. Twenty years ago,” Rufina recalls, “when I was a young catechist, we were delighted to find a useful image for catechesis. Now, with the Internet, there are more possibilities, but we continue to respond to the needs that concrete reality poses to us.”
In Mongolia, ecclesial works are not born from a desire for protagonism or abstract voluntarism. They flourish only to respond to real needs, with a perseverance that can only be based on gratitude. (Agenzia Fides, 19/6/2025)
