We were even more amazed to see, displayed in the Catholic cathedral, an image of the Madonna carved in wood, with the features of the Madonna of Lourdes, and hearing the story.
The event dates back to about ten years ago. A poor woman, Mrs. Tsetsege, mother of eleven children, due to extremely poor family conditions, was forced to rummage through landfills in her city, Darhan, in northern Mongolia. One day, as a garbage truck dumped her load, a bundle wrapped in a blanket rolled out in front of her. Inside there was that statue of the Madonna, which the lady didn't know since she wasn't Christian. However, she was very impressed and took it to her house.
The nuns of Mother Teresa had been present in Darhan for some time, carrying out their mission among the poor and were in contact with Tsetsege and his family. When they saw her image, the nuns explained to her what it represented and she immediately wanted to deliver it to the Catholic church in her city, to be exposed for veneration.
About a year ago, at the beginning of 2022, the apostolic prefect Msgr. Giorgio Marengo (who would receive the cardinal's purple on the following 22 August) became aware of the history of the image and wanted to bring it to the cathedral of Ulaanbaatar and spoke about it to the Holy Father. «I immediately thought that the Virgin, through this discovery, wanted to tell us something», says Marengo, who still cannot explain «how that statue ended up in the landfill given that, especially in that part of the country, Catholics are very few. Then I thought that the Lord, through his holy Mother, makes himself present in the most extreme situations to tell us how close he is to each of us"(Roman Observer, January 14, 2023).
What does the Mother of God mean to us and to the Church? She always says the same thing: "The Almighty has done great things for me" (Lk 1, 49) and "Do whatever he tells you" (Jn 2, 5). In short, you say that you have no other wealth other than that son of yours, and the Church (as well as us, personally...) must enrich itself solely with that "treasure".
If the Church in Mongolia is numerically a "small flock", the condition of the Church elsewhere is not very different. Then this is the moment not to fear: "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you his kingdom... Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Lk 12, 32.34). The Church begins and prospers precisely when, as in Mongolia, it recognizes that its origin is only in the Lord and places his heart there.
