Roman Catholicism in Mongolia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 415 Roman Catholics in the country who are served by three churches in the capital Ulaanbaatar.
Roman Catholicism was first introduced in the 13th century during Mongol empire, but died out with the demise of the Yuan Dynasty in 1368. New missionary activity only set in after the Opium war of the mid-19th century. A 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.
Contents |
[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]
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] see also Catholic Hierarchy
Freedom of thought and religion were not permitted under communist rule.[4]
[edit] Mission sui 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)
On August 23, 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] A fourth parish was founded in 2007 in Darhan, Mongolia's second-largest city.[18]
[edit] References
- ^ a b First parish assembly held on missions. AsiaNews.it (February 5th, 2004). Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ Cordier, Henri (1911). Mongolia. Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. X. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ Tande, Claes (July 15th, 2002). Mongolia:Chronology of Catholic Diocese. katolsk.no. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ My art is at the service of God, convert says published. AsiaNews.it (Novembe 29th, 2004). Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ Catholic Church Mission. Missionhurst.org. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ First Catholic Church Opens In Mongolia. Catholic World News (May 27th, 1996). Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ Mongolia Gets New Papal Nuncio. Zenit News Agency (June 17th, 2004). Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ O’Brien, Ellen. The Catholic Church in Mongolia: Small, desperately poor, but they love God - and Smarty Jones. The Catholic Standard and Times. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ Pope sends regrets for not visiting Mongolia. Catholic World News (August 29th, 2003). Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ Simpson, Victor L. (July 8th, 2003). VATICAN CITY:Pope trip to Mongolia dropped. Associated Press. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ First modern Mongolian editions of Catholic catechism and prayer book published. AsiaNews.it (April 6th, 2004). Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ Dalziel, Elizabeth (September 25th, 2005). Christian missionaries flocking to newly open Mongolia. The Associated Press. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ Padilla, Wens S. (October, 2004). Apostolic Prefecture of the Catholic Church Mission in Mongolia. Missionhurst.org. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ Jewell, Jim (January 18th, 2005). Children Huddled in Crevices. Christianity Today. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ Containing violence by learning to talk within the family. Asia News.it (July 29th, 2004). Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ Balsamo, William M. (2000). Verbist Care Center in Mongolia Helps Street Children in Ulan Bator. Christianity Today. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ No holiday, but Mongolia's Catholics prepare for Christmas celebration. Fides (December 18th, 2003). Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ Catholic Church celebrates 15 years in Mongolia; sets plans for future. Mongolia Web News (February 5th, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-03.
|
||||||||
