Bp. Wenceslao Badilla: Pope Francis is a super example of mercy and compassion

Pope Francis is on his pastoral visit to Philippines which has generated a lot of excitement among the Catholics of Asia who have travelled to Manila to meet the Pope. Among them are many bishops from other Asian nations.

Sean Patrick Lovett from the English Section of Vatican Radio, who is in Philippines to cover Pope Francis' three day pastoral visit, had the rare opportunity of interviewing Msg. Wenceslao Badilla, the first and only bishop of Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia.  Bishop Badilla is a native of the Philippines and was ordained a bishop in 2003 by St. Pope John Paul II. 

Listen to Bishop Wenceslao Badilla speaking to Sean Patrick Lovett  

Bishop Badilla says the Church in his country was born in 1992 when there were no local Catholics - a church born just 23 years ago. As the youngest church in the region, Mongolia now counts 1,025 local Catholics, as well as a number of migrants from other countries. Bishop Badilla believes it's important for Church leaders to be witnesses, as well as simply preaching with words and he considers Pope Francis a super example of this type of ministry.

Roman Catholicism was first introduced to the region in the 13th century during the Mongol empire, but it died out with the demise of the Yuan Dynasty in 1368. With the introduction of democracy in 1991, Catholic missionaries returned and rebuilt the church from scratch. An Apostolic Prefecture has been established, a bishop ordained and three churches built, while diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Mongolia were established in 1992.

On August 23, 2003, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe (who was then head of the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples) travelled to the country to consecrate Father Wenceslao Badilla as the first bishop of Mongolia.