Mission to Mongolia

[mdgspencer]

After communism fell there in 1989, three priests journeyed to a country with no priests, no churches, no Catholics, no knowledge of Christianity. This article gives the story of the Catholic faith there since then. Mongolia is an Asian country of 3 million people lying between China and Russia.
see www.sconews.co.uk/feature/33464/mission-to-mongolia/

 

[Coatimundi]

Quoting from the SCO news article:

… in a country known to other missionaries as the ‘hardship country.’ He recalled that when he first arrived, the country, which was mostly comprised of nomadic herders, had no knowledge of Christianity, and was struggling with alcoholism, domestic abuse, minimal government social services and extreme poverty.

Mongolia is still all of those things. The people who live there suffer so much, and the country is astonishingly underdeveloped. Sadly, during the past three years foreigners have been targets for unprovoked attacks. These attacks are particularly directed at anyone who has an appearance which might be considered Chinese or Korean. Such attacks hinder the foreign investment which the country so desperately needs.

With these things in mind, I am in awe of Bishop Padilla, and the other 71 missionaries (21 are priests.) Together, they serve a population of 800 Catholics (out of 2.7 million inhabitants.) Its an enviable priest to parishioner ratio! But those missionaries have much to contend with.

Mongolia’s population is almost entirely Buddhist, and the government restricts other religions. Getting government permission to open a new parish took years. Priests are not allowed to wear distinctive clothing in public. Religious instruction is not allowed in schools (not even in the Catholic school) nor in public spaces, either. As a foreign religion, Christianity is seen at odds with the national identity, and this feeling is sometimes experienced by the missionaries.

You can learn more about the Catholic Church in Mongolia at this link:
catholicchurch-mongolia.mn/

 

[RC_Sojourner]

Quoting from the SCO news article:

Mongolia is still all of those things. The people who live there suffer so much, and the country is astonishingly underdeveloped. Sadly, during the past three years foreigners have been targets for unprovoked attacks. These attacks are particularly directed at anyone who has an appearance which might be considered Chinese or Korean. Such attacks hinder the foreign investment which the country so desperately needs.

With these things in mind, I am in awe of Bishop Padilla, and the other 71 missionaries (21 are priests.) Together, they serve a population of 800 Catholics (out of 2.7 million inhabitants.) Its an enviable priest to parishioner ratio! But those missionaries have much to contend with.

Mongolia’s population is almost entirely Buddhist, and the government restricts other religions. Getting government permission to open a new parish took years. Priests are not allowed to wear distinctive clothing in public. Religious instruction is not allowed in schools (not even in the Catholic school) nor in public spaces, either. As a foreign religion, Christianity is seen at odds with the national identity, and this feeling is sometimes experienced by the missionaries.

You can learn more about the Catholic Church in Mongolia at this link:
catholicchurch-mongolia.mn/

Wow! It’s nice to meet someone who knows so much about the Church in Mongolia. Why is that? Have you ever been to Mongolia, or do you just pray for the Church there?

I kind of forget how I stumbled upon it, but in the past year or so I somehow found out about the situation of the Church in Mongolia, and ever since then I make sure I pray for the Church there in every Rosary I pray.

I don’t have a lot of money, but maybe in the future I’ll be able to send money to the Church over there. I’ve thought about it before, but decided against it. Anyways, I was very glad to see that the Catholic Mission society chose to focus on supporting the Church in Mongolia, and I hope they raised a lot of money in Australia!

Also, do you speak Mongolian? I follow that blog you cited, but I read the English version.

Lastly, I think it’s pretty amazing that of around 1,000 Catholics in Mongolia, and yet there are 6 parishes, (also a few satellites where Mass is celebrated, but haven’t yet been given parish status). The point being, that though there are few Catholics over there, it looks like they are very engaged in the Church.

 

[Coatimundi]

Oh, I am not especially knowledgeable about Mongolia. Like you, my only contact with the country or people is via internet sources. If I could speak or read Mongolian, I would certainly know more, though!

My previous post was simply an attempt to distill some relevant information for readers of CAF. I relied upon the website I linked to, and upon previous news articles I have read.

I am heartened to see that there are three of us here who are concerned with the situation in Mongolia. Truly, it is a frontier, not only for missionaries, but also for the people who live outside of the capital city. I want to encourage everyone reading this to pray for the welfare, spiritual and physical, of the citizens and guests of that nation.

 

[RC_Sojourner]

Well, it is comforting to know that even though most people know almost nothing about Mongolia, that there are other Catholics who keep it close to their hearts and prayers.

That’s part of the reason why I pray for them, I feel like its an intention that is not prayed for, at least specifically, very often. So, they need all the prayers they can get!

Anyways, I stumbled upon these youtube videos last night, that were made for the Catholic Mission fundraising thing in Australia:

… I don’t think I can post links as a trial member…

The first video on youtube is called: I will build my Church- sock it to homelessness in Mongolia.
The second one is called: I will build my Church | World Mission month 2013.

They’re both posted by the user: cathmission

 

[Djames581]

Thanks for sharing some interesting history of Catholic faith.