ASIA/MONGOLIA - Farewell to Father Robert Goessens, pioneer of the Catholic mission in Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar (Fides News Agency) – Father Robert Goessens, a Belgian missionary of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CICM), died in Japan on August 15 at the age of 97. A key figure in the early development of the contemporary Catholic presence in Mongolia, he was part of the first group of three CICM missionaries to arrive in Ulaanbaatar in July 1992, at a time when the country was emerging from several decades of communist rule. Together with Father Wenceslao Padilla, a Filipino missionary who became the first Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, and Father Gilbert Sales, Father Goessens was entrusted with establishing the mission. They arrived on July 10, on the eve of the national holiday of Naadam, the three missionaries faced an entirely new task: learning the Mongolian language, meeting a population that knew little or nothing about Catholicism, and patiently laying the foundations of an ecclesial community.

Before arriving in Ulaanbaatar, Father Goessens had already made a profound mark on the pastoral and social landscape of Japan’s Kansai region. He arrived in Japan on October 2, 1955, shortly after his priestly ordination, and carried out his ministry there for nearly four decades, particularly in the Diocese of Osaka and in the parish of Sakai. Alongside his parish ministry, he distinguished himself through pioneering work in social services and child welfare. Among other initiatives, he founded the Junshinkai social welfare organization (社会福祉法人 淳心会), under whose auspices several kindergartens and childcare centers (Heiwa no Sono) were established. His concern for the most vulnerable and for children, combined with a profound respect for local cultures, became a distinctive feature of his ministry.

Born in Belgium in 1928, Father Goessens already had extensive missionary experience in Japan, where he had lived and ministered for 37 years before leaving for Mongolia. His knowledge of Asia and pastoral experience were placed at the service of the new mission entrusted to the “Scheutists,” as CICM members are commonly known. The congregation was founded in Scheut, near Brussels, by Father Théophile Verbist.

In the early days, the missionaries lived in a hotel before moving into an apartment. They celebrated Mass for foreign Catholics living in the capital and offered English classes. They also welcomed Mongolians who wanted to understand their presence and way of life. “None of us knew how to proceed. So we had not worked out any plan before arriving, because we wanted to look around,” he told the APIC news agency in 2001.
This presence quickly translated into social initiatives, particularly for the benefit of street children. With the support of the Mongolian authorities, the Catholic mission helped establish a shelter capable of accommodating around one hundred children, while also developing educational activities and language courses. The initiative subsequently expanded and, in particular, helped pave the way for the arrival of other missionaries from different religious congregations.

The work of the first CICM missionaries was characterized by a rejection of proselytism and a desire to build respectful relationships with Mongolian society, its religious traditions and its authorities, following the “come and see” approach. This attitude enabled the Catholic Church to grow slowly but peacefully. In 2012, Father Goessens returned to Mongolia to take part in celebrations marking the twentieth anniversary of the resumption of the Catholic presence in the country and to reunite with the people with whom he had shared the founding years of the mission. That trip was his last visit to Mongolia.

In a message of condolence, the Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar paid tribute to a man it described as one of the first missionaries to help lay the foundations of the Catholic Church in Mongolia. The statement recalled his faithful service alongside his confreres and his commitment to sowing “faith, hope, compassion and love” among the Mongolian people. His CICM confreres in Japan celebrated Father Robert Goessens’ funeral Mass on August 18, giving thanks for his life and ministry. The Catholic Church in Mongolia expressed its condolences to his family, confreres and all those who worked with him, entrusting his soul to the mercy of God. “May the seeds of faith he planted in Mongolia, the love of Christ he shared and the hope to which he bore witness continue to bear fruit in the life of the Catholic Church in Mongolia,” the Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar said.
(MLK) (Fides news Agency, 20/8/2026)

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