Pope Francis meets with a delegation of Buddhists from Mongolia, and discusses religious freedom, the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year, and the “enduring relations” between the Vatican and the east Asian country.
By Joseph Tulloch
Pope Francis has praised the “profound religious renewal” that has taken place in Mongolia since the 1990s.
In a meeting on Monday with a delegation of Mongolian Buddhists, Pope Francis said that the country has “reclaimed” its “rich religious heritage” by “reviving traditional spiritual practices and integrating them into the nation’s development”.
From 1921 until the late 1980s, Mongolia was a one-party state with close ties to the Soviet Union, and religion was violently repressed. Buddhism was the main target of the repression, being by far the largest religion in the country, which is also home to small numbers of Muslims, shamanists, and Christians.
You can read the full text of the Pope’s address here
Holy See-Mongolia relations
The Pope said that the meeting – the first to be held in the Vatican between a Mongolian Buddhist delegation and a Pope – was of “particular significance”, and reflected the “friendly and enduring relations” between the Holy See and the “noble people of Mongolia”.
The Buddhist delegation was accompanied by Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, the Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar.
In September, Pope Francis visited Mongolia, becoming the first Pope ever to do so.
Pope Francis with members of the delegation
The Jubilee Year
Pope Francis also noted that the Buddhists’ visit comes amid the Church’s 2025 Holy Year, a time of “pilgrimage, reconciliation and hope”.
“In a time marked by natural disasters and human conflicts,” the Pope said, “this Holy Year calls us to the shared goal of building a more peaceful world.”
He also emphasised that religious leaders, each rooted in their own teachings, bear a collective responsibility to “renounce violence and embrace a culture of peace.”
In this regard, the Pope praised the Buddhists’ “commitment to religious freedom and dialogue”, saying that such “fraternal solidarity” enriches Mongolian society just as its increasing material prosperity does.
Pope Francis in Mongolia in 2023
Visit to Rome
The Pope brought his address to a conclusion by saying that he hoped that the Buddhists’ stay in Rome would be “enjoyable and enriching”.
He encouraged his guests to “preserve in fostering … dialogue, fraternity, religious freedom, justice and social harmony”, and to continue strengthening their relations with the Catholic Church in Mongola, “for the sake of the peace and wellbeing of all”.
