Pope Leo XIV received Venerable Geshe Lhaaramba D. Javzandorj, Supreme Abbot of Mongolia’s Gandanteqchintelen Monastery, in a private audience at the Vatican on Oct. 26, according to Agenzia Fides, the information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies.
Javzandorj was accompanied by Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, as he traveled to Rome amid continuing ties between the Catholic Church and Mongolian Buddhists following the transition in papal leadership.
During the meeting, the abbot presented Pope Leo with a custom painting made by master artists from Gandan Monastery’s figurative art workshop.
Born in 1980 in Baruun-Urt, Sukhbaatar Province, Javzandorj traveled to India in 1998 to pursue monastic studies and received full ordination in 2001.
In 2017, he earned the Geshe Lharampa degree, the highest academic qualification in the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, ranking first among approximately 1,000 candidates. He later completed advanced tantric studies at Gyuto Monastery.
Javzandorj was appointed in November 2023 as the 30th Khamba Nomun Khan and Supreme Abbot of Gandanteqchintelen Monastery, the principal spiritual center of Mongolian Buddhism in Ulaanbaatar.
His work has included environmental stewardship, social equity and interfaith cooperation.
Through Religions for Peace Mongolia, Javzandorj has also been involved in interfaith initiatives addressing local social support, the protection of Mongolia’s nomadic landscapes and community peacebuilding.
The Vatican meeting follows earlier contacts between Mongolian Buddhist leaders and the Catholic Church.
In January 2025, Javzandorj met with Pope Francis at the Vatican to discuss human ethics, justice and societal well-being.
Gandan Monastery later held sacred text recitations and prayer rituals for Francis during the late pontiff’s illness in early 2025.
In October 2025, Javzandorj led a delegation of Mongolian Buddhist monks to Rome for events marking the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the Second Vatican Council declaration on the Catholic Church’s relations with non-Christian religions.
Following his audience with Pope Leo, Javzandorj and Marengo traveled to Assisi to join a multireligious prayer commemorating the 40th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace, first convened by St. John Paul II in 1986.
The Vatican audience and the gathering in Assisi continue a series of exchanges between Catholic and Mongolian Buddhist leaders on interreligious cooperation, peace, environmental concerns, and social issues.
