(July 09, 2012) The Catholic Church in Mongolia has grown from zero to 800 members
in 20 years. The anniversary was celebrated with a special Mass at the Cathedral
of Ulan Bator on Sunday, in the presence of civil and religious authorities, including
Archbishop Savio Hon Tai Fai, Secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelization
of Peoples, and South Korean Bishop Lazarus You Heung-sik of Daejeon. The establishment
of a fifth parish was announced and a new Catholic elementary school, was inaugurated.
In the coming months, Apostolic Prefect Archbishop Wenceslao Padilla will be visiting
communities and groups. The celebrations will culminate on 7 October 2012, the day
all the faithful Mongolian Catholics will be invited to plant a tree in memory of
the first 20 years of the Church. After the fall of the communist regime in 1991
there were no Catholics in Mongolia. In 1992, the first 'Missino sui iuris' was established
and diplomatic relations between Mongolia and the Holy See were established. That
year three pioneer missionaries arrived in the country. By 2006 there were about
600 Catholics, including 350 native Mongolians. Today there are 81 missionaries from
22 different nationalities and 13 religious institutes. Two young Mongolians are now
training for the priesthood in South Korea, at the Catholic University in Daejeon. The
Catholic mission in Mongolia now has two centres for street children, a home for the
elderly, two Montessori kindergartens, two primary schools, a centre for children
with disabilities, and a technical school. It has also created three libraries with
study rooms and computer facilities, a hostel for university students, equipped with
modern facilities, various centres for youth activities. Two farms are in full operation
in rural areas, with programs that help rural communities, a doctor's surgery and
a clinic. Caritas Mongolia, is working on water supply programs, building homes for
the poor, sustainable agriculture, food security, social development, fighting human
trafficking.