Catholic Church in Mongolia

[3] The leaders of the Mongol Empire were traditionally tolerant of many religions, though Christianity was a key religious influence, primarily through the wives of the Mongolian khans - women from the Church of the East Keraites.

John of Montecorvino was a key missionary to Mongol-controlled China during the Yuan Dynasty, translating the New Testament and the Psalms into the Mongol tongue, founding the first Catholic mission in Beijing and becoming its first bishop.

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.

[9] By 1996, Father Wenceslao Padilla and 150 parishioners were on hand at the dedication of the first Catholic Church in Mongolian history.

[12] Fr Wenceslao Padilla was consecrated as the first Bishop of Mongolia on 29 August, 2003 in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Ulaanbaatar.

On 23 August 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.

The arrival of numerous Christian missionaries has been notable since the fall of communism,[15] and Catholicism grew from no adherents in 1991 to over 600 in 2006, including about 350 native Mongolians.

More than 1,500 people attended the ordination Mass, including nearly 100 priests from South Korea, dignitaries of foreign embassies, those from local Orthodox churches, and Buddhist monks.

On 2 April 2020, Giorgio Marengo, parish priest of Arvaikheer, was appointed Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar,[28] and was consecrated bishop on 8 August 2020.

[34] People under the age of 16 can only receive catechesis with written parental consent and professions of faith are only allowed in church buildings.