The Catholic Church recently
celebrated its fifteenth year since returning to establish a presence
in Mongolia in 1992.
Though the church’s numbers
are low, with 415 Catholics in Mongolia, the church took special note
at the steady increase in church-related activities.
Catholic churches in Mongolia
now include Sts Peter and Paul, St Mary's, Good Shepherd and Mary Help
of Christians. This last church was established in 2007 in Darhan, Mongolia's
second-largest city with 80,000 inhabitants, 200 kilometers north of
Ulaanbaatur.
Additionally, church officials
note that 64 missioners from 18 countries are serving in Mongolia.
Catholic church staff now run
ministries to some 500 children in the parishes and mission stations
where children attend Mass and Sunday-school classes.
Mongolian children coming from
families which cannot afford regular schools attend the St Paul schools
in Ulaanbaatar and Zuun Mod.
Looking to the future, Bishop
Wenceslao Padilla, apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar said, “We are
establishing a local Church, but most of the pastoral agents of the
apostolic prefecture are foreigners.” For this reason, “it is high
time to encourage vocation, animation and recruitment in the parishes
among the baptized youth.”
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