Cardinal Georgio Marengo, the Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, recently visited the UK on behalf of Missio – the Pope’s charity for world mission. In a week of engagements around England, he received a warm welcome on 6 February at St Mary’s College in Oscott. There, he celebrated a special Mass with college staff and gave a fascinating talk on mission in a country where, before1992, there were no local Catholics. Cardinal Marengo was welcomed by Canon Michael Dolman, the Rector of St Mary’s College.

A connection to Cardinal Newman 
Fr Michael Glover, Missio’s Diocesan Director for the Archdiocese of Birmingham, who is also on the formation staff at the college, gave the Cardinal a tour, which included the College Chapel and the St John Henry Newman exhibition in the college’s museum. This was a particularly special moment as Cardinal Marengo has connections with the newly declare Doctor of the Church, as both cardinals studied at the same university in Rome. Earlier in the week His Eminence had also preached from the pulpit at the Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception in Mayfair, where Cardinal Newman had once stood. 

Fr Michael Glover with His Eminence, Cardinal Marengo. Photo: Missio

After celebrating Mass, His Eminence met with Missio volunteers and supporters, staff and the local students training to be priests here in England. All had the chance to learn about the Cardinal’s unique mission in Mongolia. He later presented Canon Dolman with a book he had written, as a gift of thanks for hosting the visit. 

Father Michael Glover shared:
‘The Cardinal was able to meet with our seminarians and formation staff, together with a number of Local Secretaries and supporters of Missio and share something of the experience of the church in Mongolia, a new, growing and vibrant area of Christian mission.

‘One thing that he shared with us is this idea of ‘whispering the heart of the Gospel’ – that we share gently, with those who we have built close friendships with, the whole content of the Gospel in order to transform hearts and minds.

‘I know that we'll be reflecting on the Cardinal’s words in the days to come, and we wish him well as he returns back to Mongolia…every prayer for the mission there.’

One of the students, Olly, said: 
‘I was really moved by the work that is being done in Mongolia. To think of how small it started, with just three people, to where it is now shows that the Spirit is clearly moving there.

‘I was also very impressed by Cardinal Marengo. He came across as someone who cares deeply about the people who he is shepherding. The sense of closeness that the missionaries have with the people, and meeting people where they were and living among them, does spur me on and makes me think of how we here – as diocesan priests – could embrace wherever we are called to in the diocese, which is made up of a mixture of demographics.

‘One thing I really took away was the response the Cardinal gave on the question of inculturation within Mongolia. The fact that the population contains nomadic communities that live in tents means that they can relate strongly to Israel in the Old Testament, which I found very heartwarming.

‘This can make us start looking for seeds of the Gospel within our own culture (and subcultures) where we are ministering. Overall, I found it very inspiring, and again, seeing this does deepen my desire to minister to people by meeting them exactly where they are and cultivating the seeds of the Gospel that can already be found there.’

Mission in Mongolia
Mongolia is a country six times bigger than the UK, with a total population around the size of Greater Manchester. Many of its people still live nomadic herder lifestyles, residing in gers or yurts, which are designed to be easily picked up and moved from place to place. 

Since 1992, the community of Catholics has been growing, however, there are only around 1,500 Catholics across the country and only one local priest. 

In his presentation, Cardinal Marengo shared:
‘In the 20th century, Mongolia was a communist country. It was a very complicated moment in their history… to make it easy to understand, at the beginning of the 20th century, Mongolia decided to follow what was happening in Russia, without being part of the Soviet Union. 

‘Mongolia was still a Buddhist country by large majority of people. They identify with Buddhism, and it is calculated that more than 20,000 monks were physically eliminated, between 1930 and 1940. Whatever was done by studying in Soviet Union was replicated in Mongolia, but by Mongolians. 

‘At the beginning of the 90s – 1991/ 92 – there was a kind of Democratic revolution, a peaceful revolution, which turned Mongolia into what is today.’ 
Cardinal Marengo shared how the first missionaries to come to Mongolia in 1992 included Father Wenceslao Padilla, who eventually, in 2003, became the first bishop of Mongolia.

‘When they came to Ulaanbaatar, there were no Catholics - zero. And the government said, “okay, we accept foreign missionaries under some conditions: you should work for the poor, you should help us”. So, the first missionaries were great pioneers.’

Cardinal Marengo spent three years studying the language – a notoriously difficult one to learn, and has spent more than two decades patiently building a small but strong Catholic community in Mongolia.

He shares:
‘All in all, our local Catholics number 1,512. And in our tiny community – smaller than the smallest of your chapels (but it's a sign of hope) – we have 39 local catechists, accompanying 52 people right now who, as adults, have decided to become Catholic.’
Evangelising by doing

Building positive, authentic relationships is at the heart of the mission across Mongolia. By immersing themselves in local culture, this small Church has been able to serve and enrich Mongolians – whether Catholic or not – meeting social needs such as healthcare, education and training. 

‘“Whisper the Gospel”’ – why do we like this expression? We share our faith with respect for the faith of other people around us. And we use a whisper because it demonstrates gentleness. You don't whisper to the first person you meet on the street; you whisper when you have a relationship. When you can say, “look, I want to share something with you”. 

‘Jesus lived 33 years of hidden life in Nazareth, three years of public ministry and 3 days of passion, death and resurrection. So, the life of a missionary has to be shaped using the same model and the content of our sharing is the Gospel of Christ. And of course, we do a lot of things for people, but the core of our life and activities are being witnesses to Christ. And we do it, hopefully, by reaching out to the heart.’

‘Prayer, contemplation and silent meditation are necessary for us missionaries, and they perfectly fit the reality of the country, where these values are also much appreciated. 40% of the population identifies with Tibetan Buddhism. 

‘One of my best friends is the head of the Buddhist monastery in Ulaanbaatar. And recently, we went together to Rome to see Pope Leo. And in a context shaped by deep spirituality, we also are invited to deepen our own way of prayer, which is the source of our energy. This brings us to an openness to what the Holy Spirit has been asking of us and to be always looking for new ways to evangelise.'

The Cardinal’s perspective of mission resonates strongly with the early Church:
‘We try one way, it doesn't work. We say, sorry, it didn't work. We start another way. You know, it's like in the Acts of the Apostles. You see the Apostles trying one way or another to share the Gospel. With all of our limitations – for which we ask the Lord to have mercy on us – with all our mistakes, we know that we are working, we are called by the Lord to work with him and for him and we hope that we are doing a decent job.’ 

Cardinal Marengo with Canon Michael Dolman and Fr Anthony Chantry MHM

Huge thanks to the students and staff of St Mary’s College in Oscott for hosting such a wonderful event!

Photos credit: Missio