Pope Leo XIV receives Mongolia's top Buddhist leader in Vatican audience
Editorial illustration — Press Pass USAPope Leo XIV granted a private audience at the Vatican on Monday morning to Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, the Catholic Church's apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar, and to Venerable D. Javzandorj, the 30th Khamba Nomun Khan and abbot of Gandantegchinlen Monastery, Mongolia's largest Buddhist center.
Cardinal Marengo described the encounter as cordial and thanked the Pope for receiving the delegation despite a demanding schedule and his recovery from surgery on October 13. Mongolia's ambassadors to Italy and to the Holy See accompanied the cardinal and the abbot, according to the report.
The meeting is the third papal audience granted to a Mongolian Buddhist delegation, underscoring a sustained pattern of contact between the Holy See and Mongolian Buddhist leaders. Mongolia's Catholic community numbers only about 1,700 faithful, served by a single local priest under Cardinal Marengo — a setting in which cooperation with Gandan, a driving force of Buddhist revival and education in the country, carries particular weight.
Cardinal Marengo and Venerable Javzandorj were due to take part on Tuesday in the interreligious meeting in Assisi organized by the Community of Sant'Egidio, which brings representatives of the world's religions together for shared prayer and dialogue in service of peace. Pope Leo himself is not traveling to Assisi on doctors' advice following his surgery; he is sending a message to the gathering instead.
Sources: CathoNews (Oct 26, 2026); Community of Sant'Egidio Assisi meeting program.
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