By Father Peter Choy Wai-man
The Catholic Church of Mongolia is a small but growing local Church. According to the figures provided, there are currently about 1,500 Catholics in the country, including local residents and foreign residents or expatriates from different countries, including Korea, the Philippines and Poland, making it a very diverse Catholic community.
The Catholic Church of Mongolia was officially established in 1992, when the country opened up to the world after the fall of communism. Since then, the first group of Catholic missionaries arrived in Mongolia, and now there are more than 70 of them, who have been working to establish the Church and spread the gospel in the country.
The Catholic Church in Mongolia faces various challenges, including: 1) the small size of the Catholic community, with Catholics accounting for less than 0.05 per cent of the country’s population of 3.35 million; 2) Buddhism is the dominant religion in the country, with deep-rooted cultural influences, so it is not easy for missionaries to master the culture and language of the country; 3) the country’s sparsely populated areas, with the exception of a few major cities, are poorly served by transport, making it difficult for missionaries to work in remote areas, and so on. Nevertheless, the local churches are still actively involved in social and educational work and have launched a number of projects to serve the local population, including schools, social welfare centres and medical clinics.
Overall, the Catholic Church in Mongolia is a small but vibrant community. Pope Francis’ announcement of a pastoral visit to this young Church at the end of August is significant in several ways, in addition to the care and support he has given to the smallest and most remote Churches since he took office.
First of all, Mongolia is a predominantly Buddhist country with a small Christian population, so the pope’s visit will be seen as a symbol of encounter and dialogue between different faiths and cultures.
Secondly, the pope’s visit to Mongolia, a strategically important country in East Asia, situated between China and Russia, will help to further develop diplomatic relations between the Holy See and China and Russia.
Thirdly, the pope’s visit will be a major event for the Mongolian Catholic Church, which currently has just over 1,000 members. Just as last year’s installation of local Bishop Giorgio Marengo as a cardinal, the pope’s pastoral visit will bring this small, remote and seemingly forgotten community before the eyes of the universal Church, giving them a sense of the universal nature of the Catholic Church and of the interconnectedness of the global community of believers.
To underline the significance of the Pope Francis’ pastoral visit to the Church in Mongolia, the local bishops have sent a letter inviting bishops from neighbouring countries and regions to come to the ceremony.
Our bishop, Cardinal-elect Stephen Chow Sau Yan, sj, has been invited to lead a delegation to express the brotherhood of the local Churches in their common endeavour for synodality. It is hoped that the pope’s visit will also bear fruit in the area of interreligious dialogue and promote greater understanding between different cultures and traditions.
