Mongolia: Church inaugurates centre for the study of Mongolian culture
Located in the Ulaanbaatar Cathedral compound, the centre is meant to foster the inculturation of foreign missionaries and volunteers engaged in pastoral and social activities, deepening their knowledge of the local language, history, and society. The inauguration coincided with Pastoral Week, which saw the small Catholic community reflect on the theme, “Grace and Mission”.
Ulaanbaatar (AsiaNews) – Last Tuesday (5 May), the small Catholic Church of Mongolia held the official inauguration ceremony of the Studium, a research centre on the Mongolian language and culture, in the capital, Ulaanbaatar.
The facility is meant for foreign missionaries, religious educators, and volunteers engaged in social and pastoral activities within the local Church as a tool to foster inculturation.
The centre is in the north wing of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, in the premises that previously housed the offices of Caritas Mongolia, which moved to a dedicated site.
"The project," explained Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, "seeks to offer ongoing training to pastoral workers, including catechists and foreign missionaries, allowing them to deepen their knowledge of the Mongolian language, history, culture, religion, and society, while also promoting linguistic research.”
During the inaugural ceremony, a morin khuur musician (a traditional Mongolian string instrument) and a singer of local traditional music offered musical greetings, while Mr. J. Selenge gave a lecture on the “Mongolian Identity”.
The project, which began in September 2025, reached an important milestone with the creation of the dedicated educational facility.
Significantly, the inauguration took place on the eve of the 2026 Pastoral Week of the Catholic Church of Mongolia, an annual event held this year from 6 to 9 May at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.
This is a unique event, bringing together missionaries, catechists, lay people, and Church leaders around a different theme each year, offering an opportunity to learn, discern, and listen to one another. Some 90 people attended this year's Pastoral Week.
The theme that guided the reflection was “Grace and Mission of the Catholic Church in Mongolia”, with Jesuit Father Giacomo Costa, Consultor of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, invited as a guest speaker to lead the session.
This year's Pastoral Week was characterised by a collective reflection on the true identity of the Catholic Church in Mongolia, with certain questions asked, like: What is our calling? What are our grace and our mission? All this was done through mutual listening and sharing in a synodal manner.
Before the start of the meeting, Cardinal Giorgio Marengo urged participants to "look at the Catholic Church in Mongolia with the eyes of faith and the eyes of God and reflect together," reminding everyone to participate in a climate of prayer.
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