Roman Catholicism in Mongolia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

First Roman Catholic Cathedral being built

The Roman Catholic Church in Mongolia is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome. There are only about 300 Roman Catholics in the country who are served by three churches in the capital Ulaanbaatar.

Roman Catholicism was introduced during the first evangelization of China in the 13th century during Mongol rule, but was forced underground until after the Opium war of the mid-19th century. The first mission was founded for Outer Mongolia, giving Mongolia its first Roman Catholic jurisdiction, but all work ceased within a year when a communist regime came to power.

With the introduction of democracy in 1991, Roman Catholic missionaries returned and rebuilt the church from scratch. As of 2006, there is an Apostolic Prefecture, a bishop, three churches, and diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Mongolia since 1992. Pope John Paul II planned to visit Mongolia, and it is hoped that Pope Benedict XVI will become the first Pope to visit.

1 History
- 1.1 Mission Sur Iuris (1991-2003)
- 1.2 Prefecture Apostolic (2003-Present)
2 References

[edit] History

The Roman Catholic Church in Mongolia has ancient roots in Mongolia, most of them coming through China. Missionaries such as William Rubruck and Giovanni da Pian del Carpine came to this region between the 13th and 14th centuries because of the Mongols' religious tolerance. It is likely that the New Testament and the Psalms were translated by Giovanni da Montecorvino, who founded the first Roman Catholic mission in Beijing and became its first bishop.^[1] By 1300, the Catholic population numbered about 30,000. Their presence dwindled, though probably not completely vanishing in the succeeding years until the famous Matteo Ricci's coming and the great spreading of Catholicism that took place while he was at the Chinese Emperor's court. This period ended with anger and division and all missionaries went underground until the Opium War of 1841. Technically Mongolia had been covered by the diocese of Peking, and it was not until 1840, when a Vicariate Apostolic was divided from Beijing that Mongolia had its own Catholic jurisdiction.^[2] In 1883, a vicariate for Inner Mongolia was created, and then a mission was created for Outer Mongolia in 1922.^[3] Freedom of thought and religion were not permitted under communist rule.^[4]

Priest ministering to the homeless underground

[edit] Mission Sur Iuris (1991-2003)

The new Mongolian Constitution of 1992 guaranteed religious liberty, and missionaries were sent to reconstitute the church. Missionhurst (the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary) sent priests Fathers Wenceslao Padilla, Gilbert Sales and Robert Goessens to accomplish this mission once the Vatican had established diplomatic relations with Mongolia. Previous to their arrival, expatriates had been attending Protestant services. Initially, none of the missionaries knew Mongolian, none of the native peoples knew english, and there were no Catholic liturgical texts printed in Mongolian.^[5] By 1996, Father Wince Padilla and 150 parishioners were on hand at the dedication of the first Catholic Church in Mongolian history.^[6] In 1997 the first papal nuncio to Mongolia from the Vatican was named.^[7] The new Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Ulaanbaatar is shaped like a traditional ger, with its circular tent shape and walls of thick felt.^[8]

[edit] Prefecture Apostolic (2003-Present)

Clergy from different congregations working in Mongolia

On August 23rd, 2003, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe (head of the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples) arrived and consecrated Father Padilla as the first bishop of Mongolia, although the country is not yet a diocese. Pope John Paul II apologized for being unable to attend the opening himself, as he had been planning to visit Mongolia, a first for a Pope.^[9] He had originally been invited by the President of Mongolia during his visit to the Vatican in 2000.^[10] There are now 54 missionaries from various countries helping to build up the church, and 3 functioning parishes. A Mongolian version of the Catholic Bible was printed mid-2004; it is done in traditional Mongolian writing style and includes common Catholic prayers.^[11] There is also demand for a Roman Catholic calendar in Mongolian to be created.^[1] The flocking of Christian missionaries has been notable since the fall of communism,^[12] and the growth for Catholicism in particular is explosive, from no believers in 1991 to over 300, 216 of which are native Mongolians.^[13] The mission runs a kindergarten, English classes, a technical school, soup kitchens, two farms, and a care center for 120 disabled children.^[14] Another course offered is how to deal with anger management, in order to help stem violence against women.^[15] The Verbist Center has also taken in 120 street children who had previously been living in Ulaanbaatar's sewer system.^[16] Christmas is not a national holiday in Mongolia, as the proportion of the population that is Christian is very low.^[17]