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

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 arrived in Philippines to meet the Pope.  Among them are many  Asian Bihops.

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

The Church here was born in 1992  with no local catholics - a church born just 23 years ago.   Being the youngest church Mongolia has 1,025  local catholic population apart from the migrants from other countries.    Bishop Badilla who believes in being a witness than preaching in words considers Pope Francis a super example in this aspect.

Roman Catholicism was first introduced in the 13th century during Mongol empire, but died out with the demise of the Yuan Dynasty in 1368. With the introduction of democracy in 1991, Roman Catholic missionaries returned and rebuilt the church from scratch. As of 2006, there is an Apostolic Prefecture, a bishop, three churches, and diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Mongolia since 1992.

On August 23, 2003, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe (head of the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples) arrived and consecrated Father Wenceslao Badilla as the first bishop of Mongolia.  

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