First Catholic in 1995

Catholicism is so much part of our way of life that, sometimes, we do not realise that it is not like that in the rest of the world.

How would you react if someone tells you that there is a big country where there were no Catholics till 1995? Astonished?

That country is Mongolia, a country sandwiched between Russia and China. It was only opened to full-scale evangelisation in the Nineties, when Moscow loosened its grip on its longtime client state following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

With no Christian presence since the 13th century, the country of 2.7 million became one of the last modern nations to hear the Gospel.

Mongolia's first Catholic is Oyuna Oidov, who was baptised in 1995. Oidov, the daughter of Communist Party members, now works as an administrator and translator for the church in Mongolia.

Throughout the country, there are 177 Mongolian-born Catholics along with 25 nuns, 13 religious priests and one religious brother - all foreigners.

What is very interesting is the evangelisation strategy that is being adopted by the church in that country. While other Christian religions are adopting an aggressive style of evangelisation, the Catholic church is applying a very low-key approach.

The policy of the church is the "Come and see" approach. Priest and religious missionaries deal with social problems, work on development projects and run a language centre. Then, when they become accepted, people start asking questions about Catholicism.

The road that has to be covered is undoubtedly long and full of pitfalls. The first missionaries - most of them members of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary - have now sown the good seed. We should all pray that it grows.