Pope Francis today blessed the statue of the Virgin known in Mongolia as “Mother of Heaven” which was inexplicably rescued from a dump in the northern region of the country by a Buddhist woman.
This Saturday, September 2, before entering the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, the Pontiff greeted Mrs. Tsetsege, the woman who, several years ago, had collected from the garbage can a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary, enthroned in 2022 in the cathedral.
The woman who found the statue does not remember the exact year in which she discovered it. However, she insists that it was even before the missionaries arrived on Darkhan 18 years ago.
That statue was brought to Ulaanbaatar by Cardinal Giorgio Marengo and is now on the altar of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. Pope Francis decreed that she be venerated as the “Heavenly Mother” and blessed her after her address to missionaries and clergy.
This morning, accompanied by the Apostolic Prefect, Cardinal Marengo, the Holy Father entered a “yurt” (a typical Mongolian construction of nomadic peoples), where he briefly met Mrs. Tsetsege and blessed her as well.
She told him how she rescued the small wooden statue representing the Mother of Jesus. Before this statue, Cardinal Marengo consecrated Mongolia to the Virgin Mary on December 8 of last year.
The statue received the title “Mother of Heaven” by the will of the Holy Father. In January, Cardinal Giorgio Marengo presented to Pope Francis several titles collected among the Mongolian faithful. The Pontiff chose “Mother of Heaven” as the most appropriate title, recognizing the significance of heaven in Mongolian culture.
The Pontiff entered the “yurt” this Saturday, where Mrs. Tsetsegey was, who also explained aspects of her culture and tradition. Later, he moved, a few meters away, to the Cathedral for his meeting with the bishops, priests, missionaries, consecrated men and women, and pastoral agents of Mongolia.