Mongolia’s House of Mercy ‘not a house: a home!’
By Linda Bordoni and Salvatore Cernuzio - Ulaanbaatar
The “House of Mercy” project will create a home - not a house - but a real home for those who will find not only a roof and a hot meal, not only a warm bathroom and a laundry, but a “family” that will love them and help them to get back on their feet.
'Open to everybody'
Speaking to the pool of Vatican journalists present at Ulaanbaatar’s Catholic-run shelter for the homeless, for victims of domestic violence and for anyone in need, the director, Brother Andrew Tran explained that the winter months are particularly harsh here, and for those who live on the streets, or who are forced to seek help, the Catholic missionaries are always there: “We try to open to everybody, based on capacity and based on the needs of the people.”
Some of them he said are just very poor, others have become disconnected from their families because of past mistakes, alcoholism, domestic violence.
“We try to reconnect them again; we try to bring them back to society, especially the old people, the children and the women victims of domestic violence,” he explained, “We try to help people who are alcoholic, to give them the strength to help them to recover from being enslaved to alcohol so that they are able to go back to society.”
The missionaries are also there, he added, to help those who have lost their identity documents and cannot access the public health system so they can register again and hopefully begin to rebuild a normality.
The House of Mercy is small, but Brother Andrew said the missionaries will strive to welcome everybody.
Of course, he said, “it depends on our financial situation because it is 100 percent charitable work.”
‘What does it mean to have Pope Francis here today?" one journalist asked him. The Pope is here, Brother Andrew responded, because of his love and concern for the poor.
“It is very significant for him to bless the building, bless the project," he said. "With his blessing, we continue his will and his love for the poor.”
House of Mercy
The House of Mercy, inaugurated on Monday, 4 September, in the presence of Pope Francis, was already active offering services and assistance.
It is located in a disused school complex that once belonged to the Hospitaller Sisters of St Paul of Chartres, in the central Ulaanbaatar.
It was established thanks to the initiative of the local Church and the Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, and thanks to the support of the Australian Pontifical Mission Societies.
The three-story building, plus basement, has private rooms and a hall where guests can live together in fraternity and sharing. It has been transformed into a temporary shelter for the poor, and is equipped with a clinic to meet the needs of homeless people and victims of domestic violence. It is also designed to be a temporary shelter for migrants who have arrived in the city and need initial support.
The House of Mercy operators work closely with health facilities, the local police and social workers in the district.
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