ASIA/KAZAKHSTAN – Russian and Kazakh Catholics on the Pope’s visit: “It was a great gift to see that the Pope loves us”

ASIA/KAZAKHSTAN- Russian and Kazakh Catholics on Pope’s Visit: “It wasn’t a great gift to know that the Pope loves us.”

Karaganda (Fides). – Fr. Ermish stated that he was happy that his parishioners were able to meet Pope Francis and Catholics of other local Churches. He also mentioned that Uzbeks, Russians, and Catholics from other nations were all present. Valery Ermish, parish priest of the Catholic parish of the Nativity of Mary in Šakhtinsk, in the Diocese of Karaganda. “After seeing what we saw at Nur-Sultan we return home with the living image, universal Catholic Church, in our hearts, to our parish.” The Pope’s visit gave us a wider view of our lives as Catholics in the small Kazakh church. Father Ermish’s parish is located on the site of the former Karaganda concentration camps system. It was originally established to provide pastoral assistance to German and Polish deportees. Many of these people returned to their homes following the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Fr. Valery was with the group of Catholic pilgrims that traveled from Russia to Kazakhstan to witness the visit of Pope Francis. He returned to Russia yesterday. Verbite brother Artem Tretyakov SVD from the city of Angarsk in south-eastern Siberia told Fides that he met Pope Francis. “At first, I wasn’t enthusiastic about the idea to participate in this pilgrimage because I was very busy starting the new academic year. But my confreres convinced. As a gift, I brought a prayerbook signed by the verbites from my region. I was supposed to deliver it through a cardinal or bishop, but instead the crowd brought me to him. I kissed him and began talking to him in Russian. He didn’t understand my words, so I tried to explain. When I told him where I was from, he heard “Rossiya”, and immediately turned to me to hug me. It was a great feeling to know that the Pope loves us.
Fides also heard from Ol’ga Dubjagina, a Russian law professor and Catholic accompanying her. She said that she brought with her a new understanding and perspective on unity and peace. We left in a difficult situation. This is also evident in our lives. But prayer united us: I saw unity in the group, unity with all the pilgrims from different countries, and unity with the Pope. In Nur-Sultan we were waiting for him in the crowd. While we were waiting, nuns and priests came to us to introduce them to their friends and share their stories. These are people I will never see again in my lifetime, but I know we are part the Church and Jesus unites all of us as one big family. I bring to Moscow this square filled with Catholics from all over the world, because I know I am part of this Church, which is capable of bringing peace to the whole of the globe. (CD) (Agenzia Fides, 17/9/2022)

Share: