- AV DelCarmen
Fr. Ronald Magbanua feels blessed he had the privilege of giving Pope Francis the communion during the Pontiff’s visit to Mongolia early this month.
“I feel blessed. Of the many people, I was chosen and trusted to perform the very special task,” Fr. Ronald told NEGROS WEEKLY in an online interview.
Fr. Ronald, 47, a native of Barangay 5 in Silay City, has been serving as a missionary of the CICM, or the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for 21 years in Mongolia.
He is the local superior of CICM in Mongolia and priest of the Good Shepherd Parish.
Christians comprise a little more than 2 percent of the country’s 3.44 million people.
The Pope visited “The Land of the Blue Sky”, the first Pontiff to do so, on Sept. 1-4.
Mongolia is predominantly a Buddhist country with more than 87 percent of its people identifying themselves with the religion.
He had public appearances at the Sukhbaatar Square, the central square of the capital city of Ulaanbaatar; the Parliament Building; Hun Theater, where the ecumenical and interreligious meeting was held, and Steppe Arena, an Olympic standard ice hockey venue for international and continental games.
The Silay native was also invited to an earlier private meeting with Pope Francis. “There were only three of us invited to that private meeting, he said, the two others being CICM Superior General Fr. Charles Phukuta, a Congolese, and fellow Filipino, Fr. Gilbert Sales, a pioneer of the Mongolia Mission and presently the president of St. Louis University in Baguio City.
I could not believe at first that I was invited to the private meeting, he recalled, as my confreres earlier teased me that as their superior in the mission, I will be seated near the Pope.
I told them, however, he added, that the fact that he was coming, that was enough to make me happy and satisfied and I didn’t need to be near the Pope.
During what Fr. Ronald described as a “quick meeting”, he said he requested the Pope “to pray for us, missionaries.”
He then gave me a gift, a special rosary, and blessed me in Italian, which I understood as his reminding us “to continue being compassionate.”
Later, Fr. Ronald recalled, things changed very fast when the Cardinal called to tell me that the Pope was inviting the three of us to a meeting. “I just felt so blessed abundantly,” he said.
After the private mass, he added, “the Pope met us one by one.”
At the mass in the Arena held a day after the private meeting, Fr. Ronald gave communion to the Pope.
“Again I was blessed to serve the Pope in the altar. I served as a deacon, I gave communion to the Pope and others,” he said.
Fr. Ronald said the country has eight churches where about 1,500 Catholic Mongolians congregate.
A portion of about 200 Filipinos in the country attend masses in these churches.
Ministering to these faithful local members are 25 priests, including Fr. Ronald and another Filipino, two Mongolians and their colleagues from Vietnam, India, France, Italy and Congo.
Fr. Ronald adds few more details on Pope Francis’ visit in the following Q&A:
Please describe your preparations for the visit.
The time given to prepare for the visit was very short. The official communication of the visit came late.
It was very tiring as we had to prepare day and night to fulfill all the needed things before the visit.
All the missionaries and the faithful worked hand in hand, not minding the tiredness and sleepless nights. The faithful have contributed not only time and effort but also monetary support for the visit.
We forgot about ourselves and became one for the success of the visit.
Just to clarify, the initiative came from the Mongolian government. It was the president of Mongolia who invited the Pope to come. The invitation was sent last year.
How did the visit impact the country and your ministry? How did the locals react to his visit?
Prior to the Pope’s arrival, there were many negative comments in the social media, like “Why will this old man come?” and “The traffic is already too much, he would add to the existing traffic.”
But when the Pope came, he gave a very good impression to the people. His speech showed his knowledge of the Mongolian culture and tradition; he met the president, prime minister, head of the parliament, head of the foreign ministry office, all religious leaders and others.
He made the local people love him. After his visit, the social media was filled with all positive comments and praises for the Pope and the Catholic Church.
What did the Pope convey during his visit?
The pope gave messages to many different people he met.
In general, he showed recognition of the rich Mongolian culture. He encouraged the people not to throw their good Mongolian values. Mongolians are peace loving people.
The pope explained why he came – exactly because of the joy of the Gospel and for the Catholics to spend one’s life for the Gospel. – NWI
