Ulaanbaatar, December 5, 2025 /MONTSAME/. President of Mongolia, Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, is paying a State Visit to the Holy See at the invitation of Pope Leo XIV, Head of State of the Holy See.

President Khurelsukh and Pope Leo XIV held an official meeting. The President congratulated Pope Leo XIV on assuming the role of the Head of State of the Holy See and the Head of the Catholic Church.

The two sides, agreeing on the recent growth of the bilateral friendly relations and cooperation, discussed further deepening and expanding cooperation in the history, culture, and humanitarian sectors.

Exchanging views on certain matters in international relations, the sides reaffirmed their commitment to contributing to the international community’s efforts toward world peace and sustainability, and to working together against climate change, desertification, land degradation, and poverty.

Pope Leo XIV was elected the 267th Pope in 2025. He studied mathematics and philosophy at St. Augustine’s Seminary High School and Villanova University in the United States, and completed religious studies at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He earned his doctoral degree at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

The Holy See is a city-state within Rome, Italy, with a territory of 0.44 square kilometers. It has a population of about 900 people, most of whom are of Italian and Swiss origin.

The country’s budget exceeds EUR 890 million. Its unique, non-commercial economy is financed through investments, real-estate income, donations and offerings from Catholics, and revenue from the publication of religious books and documents, as well as from museums, commemorative coins, and medals. It maintains diplomatic relations with 183 countries and the European Union, and holds full membership or permanent observer status in 34 international organizations. The Holy See observes strict religious and diplomatic protocol.

Mongolia and the Holy See established diplomatic relations in 1992. The two countries maintain friendly relations and cooperation. In 2022, Giorgio Marengo, the Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, was named the youngest cardinal in modern history. In 1993, the Holy See donated 1,000 kg of medicine and medical supplies as humanitarian aid, and in the spring of 1996 contributed USD 31,000 to help mitigate the damage caused by forest and steppe fires.

Additionally, to assist with the aftermath of the 2000 dzud (winter disaster), Pope John Paul II personally donated USD 50,000, and the Vatican’s humanitarian organization, Cor Unum, contributed USD 30,000. Since 1992, nine Mongolian students have studied in the Philippines and two in Italy under scholarships provided by the Holy See.