Pope Greets Mongolia: “Thank You For Your Generous Hospitality”

Pope Francis left Mongolia, where he made his 43rd international apostolic trip, during which he appeared as a pilgrim in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, in a small church in this Central Asian country. On Monday, September 4, an Ita Airways A330 plane carrying the Pope, his retinue, and about 70 journalists from various publishers took off at 12:03 local time (06:03 Italian time) from the Genghis Khan International Airport in Ulaanbaatar. After about nine and a half hours of flight, at around 17:00, the plane will land at the Leonardo da Vinci airport in Rome-Fiumicino.

The central event of the apostolic journey was the mass that Francis celebrated at the Steppe Arena stadium in Ulaanbaatar.

According to the Vatican News press agency, in a sermon, the Pope recalled that the “heart of Christianity” rests not in greatness but in generosity, which becomes a gift to the neighbor: in the deserts of life, we are ‘God’s nomads.’” It quenches every inner thirst, the Pontiff said, addressing the thousands of Catholic, Orthodox, and Buddhist believers who had gathered at the Steppe Arena stadium.

“Only love truly quenches the thirst of the human heart. What kind of love? Gratuitous love that God grants to man who is able to also give it gratuitously to others for the sake of God,” Pope Francis emphasized. He took this essential truth of Christianity as the basis of his preaching.

The last stop on the Pope’s 5-day trip was a meeting with representatives of charitable organizations and the opening of the “House of Mercy” in the Mongolian capital. Following the results of the morning meeting, the Roman High Priest arrived at the airport of Ulaanbaatar, where a farewell ceremony was held with the participation of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities of the country.

Upon leaving Mongolia, immediately after takeoff, the Pope sent a telegram to the President of Mongolia Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, where he expressed “once again a feeling of gratitude” to the Mongolian authorities and people “for the warm welcome and generous hospitality prepared for me during these days.” Francis then extended his greetings, assuring of his “constant prayers for peace, unity, and prosperity of the people” and “cordially calling all of you to countless divine blessings.”