by Marie-Lucile Kubacki
Vatican City – This morning Pope Leo XIV received Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, and the Venerable D. Javzandorj, the 30th Khamba Nomun Khan and abbot of Gandantegchinlen Monastery, known as Gandan, the largest in the country.
“We are very happy about the important relationship of dialogue and cooperation between the Catholic Church and the Buddhist world in Mongolia,” Cardinal Marengo told Agenzia Fides. “It was a cordial meeting. We are deeply grateful for the kindness and generosity of Pope Leo. Despite his very demanding schedule and his recovery, which everyone knows about, he wanted this meeting to take place, so that Abbot Javzandorj could meet him in person.”
“We are very, very grateful to the Holy Father for this gesture of great kindness in agreeing to receive the delegation from Gandan Monastery in Ulaanbaatar,” the Cardinal added. The delegation was accompanied by Mongolia’s Ambassador to Italy, Bulgan Dansran, and Mongolia’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Davaasuren Gerelmaa. It also included Professor Thomas Cattoi, who holds the William and Barbara Moran Chair in Early Christian Theology and Interreligious Relations at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas .
“This synergy for the good of society and for world peace,” the Cardinal stressed, “was also very well expressed by the gift that the Venerable Javzandorj wished to present to Pope Leo.” The gift is a painting made by the masters of Gandan Monastery’s figurative art workshop, following the abbot’s own directions. It shows the Old Wise Man, a figure who “in the Mongolian tradition and in other countries of the Far East represents long life and wisdom.” Next to him is “a symbolic design of four different animals, representing diversity which, when brought together, becomes strength, a promise of success and of a future.” The whole work is “decorated in Mongolian style” and includes an image recalling the main temple of the Gandan complex. “The visit to the Holy Father,” the Cardinal added, “then ended with another spiritual and cultural moment in Saint Peter’s Basilica, where the delegation was able to contemplate the beauty of the sacred space. We also paused in the innermost part of the basilica, near the tomb of Peter.”
This is the third audience a Pope has granted to a Mongolian Buddhist delegation. The first took place on 28 May 2022, when Pope Francis received official representatives of Mongolian Buddhism on the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Mongolia. The second was on 13 January 2025, when Francis received Javzandorj himself together with Cardinal Marengo. In October 2025, Mongolian Buddhist monks accompanied by the Cardinal also took part in the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the Council declaration Nostra Aetate, in the presence of Leo XIV.
Today’s meeting is especially significant because of the role Gandan plays. Founded in the first half of the 19th century, Gandan drove the revival of Buddhism after the democratic transition of 1990. Today it has three colleges of philosophy and several ritual colleges, and it runs the Buddhist University of Mongolia. The papal audience is also a sign of a friendship and trust that have grown over time. When Pope Francis was in hospital in February 2025, the abbot had a signed and sealed message delivered to the Apostolic Nuncio expressing the closeness of the Gandan monks. At the request of President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, he also led the recitation of sacred texts for the Pope’s recovery. After Francis died, the monastery offered a prayer ritual for his soul, and it later expressed its closeness again when the new Pope was elected.
Javzandorj, born in 1980, became head of Gandan in November 2023 and is a figure of great standing. He entered the monastery in 1991. In 1998 he left for India to study at the Gomang College of Drepung Monastery, where he received full monastic ordination in 2001. In 2017 he earned the title of Geshe Lharampa, the highest academic degree in the Gelug tradition, ranking first among some one thousand candidates. He then went on to tantric studies at Gyuto, according to the StudyBuddhism portal.
“Dialogue and cooperation are central for the Catholic Church in Mongolia,” Cardinal Marengo said. “We are convinced that meetings like this one, together with the everyday work of dialogue, encounter and cooperation we carry out on the ground, can send a positive message to the whole of society. When religious traditions engage with one another in this kind of dialogue, each of them makes its own contribution to society. Religious traditions thus become partners in building a present and a future based on peace, mutual respect and work for the common good.”
The Catholic Church has been present in the country since 1992 and has made dialogue with Buddhism a core part of its mission. Like his predecessor Wenceslao Padilla, Cardinal Marengo regularly attends national and international Buddhist gatherings. He is also a member of a group of the country’s main religious leaders that meets often. In Karakorum, the ancient capital of the Mongol Empire, the Church has opened a centre for dialogue.
Buddhism is the most widespread religion in Mongolia. The 1992 Constitution separates the State from religions. However, the 1993 law on relations between the State and religious institutions says that the State “respects the predominant position of Buddhism” for the sake of the people’s unity and the traditions of its civilisation, while making clear that this does not prevent citizens from following other religions. Mongolian historians traditionally describe Buddhism as spreading through the country in three great waves. The first, in the early centuries, came through Central Asia, where Buddhism had arrived from India along the trade routes; its presence in the country is attested from around the 5th century. The second dates back to the time of the Mongol Empire, when Kublai Khan turned to Tibetan Buddhism. The third, in the 16th century, was sealed in 1578 by the alliance between Prince Altan Khan and the Tibetan abbot Sonam Gyatso, on whom the Mongols bestowed the title of Dalai Lama.
In an interview published by the Mongolian website Zindaa.mn, the abbot highlighted the role of Zanabazar , the first Bogd Jebtsundamba, the highest Buddhist spiritual authority in Mongolia. “A unique feature of Mongolian Buddhism is its third and most recent wave of diffusion, which is deeply linked to our first Bogd Jebtsundamba, Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar, a direct descendant of the Golden Lineage of Genghis Khan. Under his guidance the basic structure of Mongolian Buddhism took shape. Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar skilfully brought together the ten traditional sciences of Buddhism, especially the arts and crafts and inner knowledge, and played a decisive part in helping them flourish in Mongolia. Our system of monastic education, including the translation of sacred texts, the distinctive style of monastic robes he established and their rich symbolic meaning, as well as our temple architecture and our style of chanting, set us apart from other traditions.” Javzandorj added that Buddhism in Mongolia “has developed in a singular way, harmonising with the way of life and the culture shaped by the country’s four seasons and vast landscapes.” He also noted that Mongolia is one of the few nations to have translated into its own language the entire Kangyur, the words of the Buddha, and the Tengyur, the commentaries of the Indian masters.
Tomorrow, Tuesday 27 October, Cardinal Marengo and Abbot Javzandorj will take part in the closing gathering in Assisi. The event is organised by the Community of Sant’Egidio to mark the 40th anniversary of the Day of Prayer for Peace that Saint John Paul II called in 1986. The Pope will not attend in person but will send a message to the participants.
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