Mongolian Church inaugurates a sixth parish to mark 20 years

November 05, 2012 - The Catholic Church in Mongolia is growing, and proof of this is the starting of the nation’s sixth parish last week. Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar Filipino Bishop Wenceslao Padilla inaugurated the parish of St. Sofia on October 28, as part of the celebrations of the 20 anniversary of Mongolia’s Catholic Church. When the first missionaries arrived in Mongolia in 1992, especially from the Philippines, such as then Fr. Wenceslao Padilla of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, there were no parishes in the nation. And only a few months ago, there were still four, confirming the development path taken by the Mongolian Church. In a widely publicized pastoral letter for the 20 years of the Church in Mongolia, Bishop Padilla noted that today there are 81 missionaries in the country of 22 different nationalities, while the first two native seminarians are preparing for the priesthood in Daejeon, South Korea. The new parish of St. Sofia is in a poor neighborhood of the capital, Ulaanbaatar, and is being led by a South Korean Fidei Donum priest, on a mission to Mongolia for 16 years. Four of the six existing parishes are in Ulan Bataar, compared with only two in the rest of the vast Mongolian territory. In spite of the missions of the centers of Catholic schools already active in 17 of the 21 provinces of the nation, there is no formal framework, often because of the reluctance of local authorities. According to the latest estimates, Christians form a little over 2% of Mongolia’s over 2.7 million population. Most are Buddhist, while followers of Islam and shamanistic beliefs mixed with the local tradition are more than Christians. Catholics number only some 415, but over time have established centers for orphans, the destitute and elderly, several schools and technical institutes and medical clinics, in a country where the health infrastructure is scarce.