by the University Information Office
As one of the pioneers from the Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariæ or the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CICM) Catholic Mission in Mongolia over two decades ago, Rev. Fr. Gilbert B. Sales, CICM, President of Saint Louis University, joins His Holiness Pope Francis in the Apostolic Journey to Mongolia, “Hoping Together,” from 31 August to 4 September 2023. Pope Francis is the first pope to visit Mongolia, which he says is “at the heart of Asia.”
Fr. Sales was invited by Fr. Phukuta and the global Church’s youngest cardinal, Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar Cardinal Giorgio Marengo. He arrived in Mongolia with Father Rene Cabag, CICM Vice Provincial from the Philippines. Rev. Fr. Charles Phukuta, Superior General of the CICM, has also joined them.
The programme for this apostolic journey, announced on 6 July 2023 by the Holy See Press Office, includes meetings with the authorities, civil society, and clergy of this Central Asian country. This occasion will mark the inauguration of the House of Mercy, states the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU).
IFCU Interviews Rev. Fr. Gilbert B. Sales, CICM, on the Apostolic Journey of Pope Francis to Mongolia, the “Land of the Blue Sky”
On 25 August 2023, Prof. François Mabille, the Secretary General of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU), interviewed Fr. Sales in SLU during the 29th Association of Southeast and East Asian Catholic Colleges and Universities (ASEACCU) International Conference. The interview included a conversation about the Apostolic Journey to Mongolia and the missionary work Fr. Sales was involved in, as well as what the visit of Pope Francis means to Mongolia and the church itself.
Watch the Interview:
Rev. Fr. Gilbert B. Sales, CICM: A Connection to the Past
As a pioneering missionary for 14 years, Fr. Sales was one of the three CICM founders who “revived” the Catholic Mission in Mongolia in 1992. The other two missionary pioneers were 94-year-old Father Robert Goessens, who is currently residing in Japan but unable to travel anymore; and Bishop Wenceslao Selga Padilla from the Philippines, the first Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, who passed away in 2018. Fr. Sales then expressed that the invitation to be part of the apostolic visit to Mongolia is because he serves as “their connection to the past.”
Fr. Sales recounted that at the time when Mongolia was looking for partners for diplomatic relations, Mongolia approached the Vatican asking if it was possible to send the CICM missionaries. Fr. Sales volunteered in 1992 and began mission work teaching English at a university. Addressing other societal needs, especially with street children, the work led to setting up an apostolate for street children, which became a place for the children to stay, go to school, and get the proper care.
Paolo Affatato details out the Catholic mission work in Lettera22, an association of journalists based in Rome, specializing in foreign policy, international cooperation and culture:
“Gilbert Sales, a Filipino missionary, patiently went to find them in the sewers. In the cold, dark nights of Ulaanbaatar’s winter, the little ones took refuge underground to find shelter from the frost that gripped them. The thermometer dropped to 47 degrees below zero and for street children the challenge of survival became harder than usual. Holding each other and inhaling the heady fumes of paint thinner or gasoline was a way to overcome the fear and sadness of a childhood marked by drugs, prostitution and alcoholic parents. The missionary brought tea and mutton fritters to the little ones holed up in the great underground pipes. He was one of the three missionaries of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who arrived, shy but confident, in the “land of blue skies” on 10 July 1992.”
As part of the CICM mission, founder Theophile Verbist (1823-1865), established a community in Scheut, a district of Anderlecht, in 1862 entirely dedicated to the Chinese missions, thus the name “missionaries of Scheut.” Among those dedicated to evangelization in the East were the Catholic mission to Mongolia pioneers and founders Fr. Padilla, Fr. Sales, and Fr. Goessens.
Hoping Together: Pope Francis Visits Mongolia to Strengthen Periphery Places
Fr. Sales told Prof. Mabille that the Pope’s main purpose in the apostolic visit is to strengthen periphery places. This visit in 2023 is the second attempt to the initiative back in 2003 and 2004 that was hindered by political concerns. Fr. Sales has expressed hopes for the success of the endeavor.
Time Magazine states that the other main focus of the Pope’s visit is to “highlight Mongolia’s long tradition of interfaith coexistence.” Pope Francis will “likely emphasize that tradition when he presides over an interfaith meeting on Sunday” (03 September 2023).
Watch the full interview with the presentation of Saint Louis University: https://youtu.be/Q53LfNd5cB0
