by Pascale Rizk
Ulaanbaatar – “If we lose love, we can do almost nothing as missionaries. If we work with love, we can reap many rewards even in an environment where it seems impossible to do anything.” This is the view of Father Peter Hong Jeongsu of St. Mary’s Church in the Diocese of Ulaanbaatar.
The parish, founded in 2002, is also the meeting place every Sunday for the small Korean community, which celebrates Mass in its own language.
“We have the unique opportunity to work in an environment where many people have not even heard of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We consider this a priority and important task,” emphasizes the “Fidei Donum” missionary from the Diocese of Daejeon, which sent him to Mongolia to put his vocation at the service of the universal Church.
Mongolian and Korean communities live together in the parish. The Mongolian community, which numbers approximately 100 to 120 members, consists of two generations: The first generation discovered faith in the early 2000s. The late Father Stephen Kim Seong-hyeon – the founder of the parish, who died of a heart attack in 2023 at the age of just 55, 23 of which he spent working as a missionary in Mongolia – called them “the Abraham generation.” The second generation is represented by their children. “With the rapid changes in Mongolian society, some had lost their faith and distanced themselves from the Church. But it is encouraging that when they started families and entered a new phase of their journey, they returned and began attending the parish again,” says the parish priest. Today, Father Jeongsu tries to organize age groups, prayer meetings, and volunteer services. He believes it is important “that the generation of parents and children find themselves on a path of faith where Jesus Christ can draw the hearts of the entire family.”
The Korean community in Mongolia consists of no more than 20 people. In the past, it counted up to 50 members, many of whom left the country to return to Korea, partly due to the closure of foreign companies as a result of the pandemic, which reduced employment opportunities in Mongolia.
Even among Koreans living permanently in Mongolia, there are personal stories of conversions and baptisms of adults and children. For some, their initial interest in Christianity came in unusual ways, perhaps through a story or video they happened upon on social media. The daily life of Korean Catholics in Mongolia is characterized by simple gestures they share with other members of the local “nascent Church”: the celebration of liturgies and sacraments, visits to small, remote communities, and shared meals with the poorest, such as landfill workers and families in need.
The many missionaries who participate in the Church’s evangelizing work in Mongolia leave their own mark on the mission, within a freedom that appreciates plurality and differences, under the guidance of Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar. “And everyone recognizes,” says Father Jeongsu, “that the mission does not consist in trying to transplant the culture or the atmosphere of the Church of another country, but in helping each person express, according to their own language and culture, the love of God experienced in their lives.”
In Mongolia, the month of October is also marked by the celebration of the Day of the Elderly and Teachers’ Day. In the local language, the term “teacher” has a meaning that goes beyond simply being a profession. Sometimes, “teacher” is also used to refer to a priest, a monk, or a guru. “For this reason,” the missionary explains, “the teaching profession is highly respected in society, and consequently, catechists, as religious teachers, celebrate the month of October as an important milestone to renew their mission in the parishes.”
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