Gypsy parishes” “

In Hungary gypsies too have their own parishes. They are described for us by Msgr. Szilard Keresztes , Greek-Catholic bishop of Hajdùdorog, a diocese comprising the whole country, with 280,000 faithful and 200 priests, almost all married. According to a census conducted in Hungary in 2001, there are 5,100,000 Latin-rite Catholics, 1,300,000 Calvinists and over 300,000 Lutherans in Hungary. The large gypsy population in the country (estimated between 400,000 and 600,000) has led to the organization of proper parish communities for gypsies that are run in an autonomous fashion and that celebrate in both rites (Latin and Greek-Catholic). The Church of the Greek-Catholic rite has two gypsy parishes in eastern Hungary, one with 600-700 rom, the other with 300. According to Bishop Keresztes, this is a model “that could also be repeated in the Churches of the West”. Fittingly the 5th world congress on the pastoral care of nomads is being held in Budapest next year (from 30 June to 7 July). How are the two gypsy parishes of your diocese organized? “The parishes are the result of a very long work of preparation, because, in working with nomadic people, it’s essential to work with patience and humility; only thus can a form of organization be found. In these areas priests have already been working with gypsies for over 40 years and our pastoral work has enjoyed considerable success. Usually the parish priests are Hungarian, even though in other dioceses there are also two or three gypsy priests. We also have a gypsy seminarian. They are very religious communities. The Byzantine liturgy is completely sung and they mainly respond in the gypsy language. They have great musicality and sense of celebration. And the priests too sing in their language. It’s a model that could also be repeated in the Churches of the West”. Where do the gypsies live? “Our gypsies now live in apartments. That’s a legacy of Communism: everyone had to have a fixed address; so gypsies too were forced to settle down and have a house of their own. Generally they live on the outskirts of villages, a kind of separate quarter. Once their house were very primitive, almost shacks, but today there are also those who have beautiful homes, because they have studied, and made something of their lives. The parish churches too are fine”. So social integration with the Hungarians has taken place? “It depends. Some live on charity, others are socially integrated. There’s a great deal of solidarity between them. In one village they have developed a real social system of their own: they have an old people’s home, another for broken families and young mothers in difficulty, and they are building a kindergarten. They organize courses for assisting the elderly, with a diploma recognized by the State. In each of the two villages there is a parish for the Hungarians and one for the gypsies, because the rom do not feel themselves completely integrated; they want to keep to themselves and speak their own language. Patrizia caiffa