Wenceslao Selga Padilla

Wenceslao Selga Padilla CICM (born September 29, 1949 in Tubao , Philippines ; † September 25, 2018 in Ulaanbaatar , Mongolia ) was a Filipino religious and apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar .

Life

Wenceslao Padilla, son of a catechist , joined the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and was ordained a priest in his religious community on March 17, 1976 . He served as a missionary in Taiwan , including six years as a provincial of the Chinese provinces of his order. In 1991, after the entry into force of a democratic constitution, Mongolia turned to the Vatican with a desire to establish diplomatic relations and asked the Catholic Church for help in building up their country; she also explicitly invited missionaries to be sent. On April 19, 1992, Padilla was appointed superior of the new religious establishment in Ulan Bator, and on July 10, 1992, he traveled to his new destination.

There he particularly took care of street children, the homeless, the disabled and the elderly. On July 8, 2002, Pope John Paul II established the Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar and Padilla was appointed Apostolic Prefect. The following year, on August 2, 2003, Padilla was named titular bishop of Tharros . Pope John Paul II wanted to make his episcopal ordination himself during a state visit, but had to forego his trip to Mongolia for health reasons. In his place, on August 29, 2003, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe , Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, consecrated him; Co -consecrators were Archbishop Giovanni Battista Morandini , Apostolic Nuncio in Mongolia, and Bishop Antonio Realubin Tobias , Apostolic Administrator of Novaliches ( Quezon City ) in the Philippines. The motto of Bishop Padilla is: “A light that illuminates the peoples” ( Lk 2,32  EU ).

As bishop, Wenceslao Padilla was responsible for around 21 priests in three parishes and six mission stations, 60 religious and around 530 (2009) Catholics, roughly equal parts native and foreign Christians. The social institutions he initiated include kindergartens, houses for AIDS orphans, centers for street children , schools, clinics and soup kitchens . The Catholics are a minority in Mongolia; the social and educational offers are used by around 2,500 people. On Sunday, August 28, 2016, Bishop Padilla consecrated the first native priest.

Wenceslao Padilla died of a heart attack in Ulaanbaatar on September 25, 2018 .

Web links

• Entry on Wenceslao Selga Padilla on catholic-hierarchy.org
• missio Aachen: New beginning of the Church in Mongolia (2007)
• missio Aachen: “Baby Church” in Mongolia consecrates the first local priest. An interview with Bishop Wenceslao Padilla (2016)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mongolia: Mourning the Death of the First Bishop - Vatican News . September 26, 2018 ( vaticannews.va [accessed September 26, 2018]).
2. ↑ Wens S. Padilla: Mission for the future. Twenty years ago the Filipino Wens Padilla set foot on Mongolian soil with two friars. In: continenten , vol. 47 (2012), issue July – August, pp. X – XII, here SX
3. ^ German Mongolia Agency: Pope John Paul II visits Mongolia , accessed on February 18, 2017.
4. ↑ Sermon at the ordination of Cardinal Sepe .
5. ↑ UCAnews of April 13, 2009 .
6. ↑ Church Strives to continue projects despite economic crisis of 31 March of 2009.
7. ↑ This is Mongolia's First Native Priest: Joseph Enkh Baatar , Catholic News Agency, Aug. 31, 2016.

predecessor	Office	successor
-	Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar 2002–2018	Giorgio Marengo IMC