ULAN BATOR (UCAN) -- Thirty-two Mongolian Catholics were confirmed one week before Pentecost Sunday, the third and largest group in the recent history of the local Church.

Archbishop Giovanni Battista Morandini, the Seoul-based apostolic nuncio to Mongolia, administered the Sacrament of Confirmation on May 27 to the Mongolians aged 16-64.

The first recorded Confirmation took place in 1995 with 14 people. The next was in 1997 with 11 people. There are 116 baptized Catholics in the country.

Archbishop Morandini, who was on a visit here, told the newly confirmed after Mass that through the Sacrament they become roots of the tree of the Mongolian Catholic Church, and through their way of living they can bear good fruit.

Monsignor Wenceslao Padilla, mission superior of the Mongolian Church, told UCA News that since the Church here is new, adults do not receive the three Sacraments of Baptism, Communion and Confirmation at the same time.

The first two are usually combined while Confirmation is a separate event, at least a year after Baptism.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary priest explained that it is a pastoral concern that the new Catholics experience Christian life in a deep way for at least one year before they affirm their faith.

The recent Confirmation was preceded by two preparation sessions at which the newly confirmed reviewed their Christian life after Baptism and the meaning of being a Christian, said Immaculate Heart of Mary Sister Lieve Straiger.

The nun, who led the sessions, added that the newly confirmed also learned about the Sacrament of Confirmation and how the Holy Spirit would guide them to be Jesus' witnesses in Mongolia.

Congolese Father Pierre Kasemuana, parish priest of Mongolia's only parish, in Ulan Bator, reminded the newly confirmed, "It is your task and responsibility to be witnesses of Christ."

The local superior of the Immaculate Heart of Mary congregation acknowledged that it is not easy in the country to say openly "I am a Christian, I believe in Jesus Christ." He recognized especially the difficulty of the youth, who "are often teased by their peers once they say they are Christians."

Peer pressure, a strong sense of patriotism and the view that Buddhism is the national religion while Christianity is a foreign religion have kept some young Catholics from openly identifying their religion, he noted.

Nevertheless, Father Kasemuana encouraged the newly confirmed to live out their faith even if they do not feel ready to mention it openly and people will notice their changes in life.

"We have a good number who are happy to be Catholics. They feel at home in their faith. For others it is still a challenge," the priest said, adding that it seems easier for adults to openly admit their faith.

Tumur, 64, was confirmed together with her daughter and three granddaughters. Her husband, Yadamjav, a Buddhist and communist, says he does not mind the women in the family being of a different faith if they are happy.

The granddaughters are active in the youth group and apostolate to street people, which offers hot meals and twice weekly baths in winter.

Some young people, however, come to the missioners secretly at first, according to Church people. They hide their interest in Catholicism from their parents, since the Mongolian law says a child under 16 is allowed to join a "foreign" religion only with parents' permission.

While some youths were able to convince their parents to "come and see," others were forbidden to come to church, and they never came again.

Newly confirmed Ariunaa, a schoolteacher, told UCA News her husband often accuses her of coming to church to find foreign boyfriends, an accusation which she says some other women believers face too.

This, however, did not stop her from getting her 5-year-old twins baptized at Easter, and herself confirmed.

END