‘Heavenly Mother’
The structure of the 500-seat Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul is reminiscent of the traditional yurt or Ger, a tent-dwelling of the nomadic Mongolian peoples with a circular shape. A total of 36 stained-glass windows were added to the building’s dome in 2005, designed by Brother Mark of the ecumenical Taizé Community.
Before entering the cathedral, in one of the traditional Gers, the pope had a brief meeting with an elderly woman who found a small statue of the Virgin Mary in a pile of garbage. That statue has been restored and is venerated in the cathedral under the title “Heavenly Mother.”
Last year, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Cardinal Marengo consecrated Mongolia to the Blessed Virgin Mary, our “Heavenly Mother.”
📹VIDEO | Pope Francis met Tsetsege, the woman who found a small Virgin Mary statue in a garbage pile. #PopeInMongolia blessed the statue now venerated in Ulaanbaatar’s Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul under the title of “Heavenly Mother.” pic.twitter.com/JZ6u6CMyjE
— EWTN News (@EWTNews) September 2, 2023
During his address the pope mentioned this presence of Mary, saying she is a “sure support” in their “journey as missionary disciples.”
“I was so pleased to discover this,” he said, speaking of how the Virgin Mary “wished to give a tangible sign of her gentle and caring presence by allowing a likeness of herself to be found in a landfill.”
“In a place for refuse, this beautiful statue of the Immaculate Mother appeared. Herself free and undefiled by sin, she wanted to draw so close to us as to descend to the dregs of society, so that from the filth of a rubbish heap the purity of the holy Mother of God could shine forth.”
Witnesses to Christ
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Pope Francis was welcomed to the cathedral by Spanish Bishop José Luis Mumbiela Sierra of the Diocese of the Holy Trinity in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the current president of the Central Asian bishops’ conference.
A Missionary of Charity from India, Sister Salvia Mary Vandanakara, also spoke about her 25 years of serving the “poorest of the poor” in Mongolia. She noted the challenges of the poor, including a lack of water, and the difficulties with finding sufficient education for the children.
Father Peter Sanjaajav thanked the Holy Father, affirming how he sees God’s closeness to the people. Sanjaajav is the second native priest of Mongolia to be ordained and became a priest in 2021.
A vocal group presented a choreographed traditional song, as the cardinal, with a proud smile, sang along and did some of the gestures.
A catechist, Rufina Chamingerel, recalled how she was not born Catholic but as a student discovered the Church. At 19, she spent a whole night sharing the story of Jesus — from “birth to resurrection” — with her great grandfather. “To tell the truth,” she said, “I still don’t know how to translate the word community into our language.” She referred to the many missionaries as “living catechetical books” and assured the pope that she is praying for him and asks that he receive all the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
