Pope Francis to Visit Mongolia in September - Vatican Releases the Schedule, Logo and Interesting Statistics on Mongolia
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Pope Francis will make to Mongolia from 1 to 4 September; "Hoping Together", is the motto chosen to express the spirit and heart of the visit.
The Holy See Press Office announced the program (see below) of the Papal Visit, also publishing the logo of the Visit.
A statement released on Thursday by the Holy See Press Office lists the events that make up the Pope’s 43rd international apostolic journey.
Pope Francis is the first Pope to visit the East Asian country that borders Russia and China. With just 3.3 million inhabitants it is the world’s most sparsely populated sovereign state.
Mongolia achieved independence from the Republic of China in 1921 after which it operated as a satellite state of the Soviet Union.
After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the current social democratic Mongolian’s People’s Party reshaped the country’s political landscape and introduced a new constitution.
The end of religious repression in 1990 allowed for a rebirth of religious freedom and in the majority Buddhist nation, Catholic missionaries returned to rebuild the Church in 1992.
There are currently nearly 1,500 baptised Catholics in the country, administrated by Italian Cardinal Giorgio Marengo.
Releasing the motto of the apostolic journey - Hoping Together – the Holy See Press Office explained that it was chosen to emphasize "the double meaning of the Holy Father's Apostolic Journey to Mongolia: that of a pastoral visit and of a state visit. “Hope”, a purely Christian virtue is one that is also widely shared in non-Christian circles. By associating it with the adverb ‘Together’, the motto “underscores the importance of bilateral cooperation between the Holy See and Mongolia". 'Hoping together' represents "a common ideal and also an element that will characterize the journey: the presence of the Holy Father represents for this small portion of the People of God a sign of great hope and encouragement and on the other hand the Church that is in Mongolia, with its smallness and marginality, can offer a sign of hope for the universal Church".
The papal flight will depart from Rome/Fiumicino on the evening of August 31st to land in Ulaanbataar on Friday September 1st at 10 am local time.
The Pope will stay in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar, throughout the visit.
The Official Schedule:
On Saturday, 2 September, the Holy Father will be greeted at a welcome ceremony in Ulaanbaatar’s Sukhbaatar Square before paying a courtesy visit to the President of Mongolia at the State Palace
Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, also referred to as Khürelsükh Ukhnaa, is the 6th and current president of Mongolia, beginning his term on 25 June 2021 after winning the 2021 Mongolian presidential election.
Pope Francis will then make his first official discourse during a meeting with Authorities, civil society and the Diplomatic Corps in the “Ikh Mongol” hall of the State Palace.
Following this, he will meet with the Chairman of the State Great Hural (Parliament of Mongolia) and with Prime Minister, Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene.
In the afternoon of Friday, the Pope will meet bishops, priests, missionaries and consecrated persons as well as pastoral workers whom he will address in the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral.
On Sunday, 3 September, the Pope will participate, in the morning, in an Ecumenical and Interreligious Meeting in Ulaanbaatar’s “Hun Theatre.”
On Sunday afternoon he will celebrate Holy Mass in the “Steppe Arena” winter sports stadium.
On Monday, 4 September, the last day of the Pope’s visit, he will inaugurate a charity center – the House of Mercy – and meet with staff and volunteers of the organization, before bidding farewell during a Farewell Ceremony at the “Chinggis Khan” airport.
He is scheduled to depart at noon local time and arrive in Rome the same day in the late afternoon, making up for a six-hour time difference between Mongolia and Italy.
Edited from Vatican NewsReleasing the motto of the apostolic journey - Hoping Together – the Holy See Press Office explained that it was chosen to emphasize "the double meaning of the Holy Father's Apostolic Journey to Mongolia: that of a pastoral visit and of a state visit. “Hope”, a purely Christian virtue is one that is also widely shared in non-Christian circles. By associating it with the adverb ‘Together’, the motto “underscores the importance of bilateral cooperation between the Holy See and Mongolia". 'Hoping together' represents "a common ideal and also an element that will characterize the journey: the presence of the Holy Father represents for this small portion of the People of God a sign of great hope and encouragement and on the other hand the Church that is in Mongolia, with its smallness and marginality, can offer a sign of hope for the universal Church".
The papal flight will depart from Rome/Fiumicino on the evening of August 31st to land in Ulaanbataar on Friday September 1st at 10 am local time.
The Pope will stay in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar, throughout the visit.
The Official Schedule:
On Saturday, 2 September, the Holy Father will be greeted at a welcome ceremony in Ulaanbaatar’s Sukhbaatar Square before paying a courtesy visit to the President of Mongolia at the State Palace
Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, also referred to as Khürelsükh Ukhnaa, is the 6th and current president of Mongolia, beginning his term on 25 June 2021 after winning the 2021 Mongolian presidential election.
Pope Francis will then make his first official discourse during a meeting with Authorities, civil society and the Diplomatic Corps in the “Ikh Mongol” hall of the State Palace.
Following this, he will meet with the Chairman of the State Great Hural (Parliament of Mongolia) and with Prime Minister, Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene.
In the afternoon of Friday, the Pope will meet bishops, priests, missionaries and consecrated persons as well as pastoral workers whom he will address in the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral.
On Sunday, 3 September, the Pope will participate, in the morning, in an Ecumenical and Interreligious Meeting in Ulaanbaatar’s “Hun Theatre.”
On Sunday afternoon he will celebrate Holy Mass in the “Steppe Arena” winter sports stadium.
On Monday, 4 September, the last day of the Pope’s visit, he will inaugurate a charity center – the House of Mercy – and meet with staff and volunteers of the organization, before bidding farewell during a Farewell Ceremony at the “Chinggis Khan” airport.
He is scheduled to depart at noon local time and arrive in Rome the same day in the late afternoon, making up for a six-hour time difference between Mongolia and Italy.
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