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 Ulaanbaatar.

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.”

source: www.mongolia-web.com

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