To the ends of the earth” “” “

To mark the Jubilee of the 380 anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Jehosaphat (+1623), who was archbishop of Polatsk, and the 25th anniversary of the pontificate of John Paul II, the Greek-Catholic community of Belarus dedicated Sunday 13 July to a particular day to prayer and celebration. The faithful flocked to Polatsk from all over the country: “You shall be my witnesses … even to the ends of the earth”: that was the theme round which reflection was focused in the moments of liturgical celebration and prayer, led by the Apostolic Nuncio in Belarus, Msgr. Ivan Jurkovic. The church of Saint Parasceve, in Polatsk, was thronged with large numbers of faithful from all over Belarus, including groups from the Ukraine and from Poland. The choice of this church, smaller than the ancient cathedral of St. Jehosaphat, is due to the fact that the latter is still being used as a concert hall and therefore cannot be used for liturgical celebrations. Many pilgrims came on foot, taking four days to cover the 120 kilometres from Vitebsk to Polatsk, and so offering a witness of faith to the rest of the population. Such great religious fervour is also due to the veneration and affection paid by the Greek-Catholic community of Belarus to John Paul II. The pilgrims in a particular way prayed that the Pope’s visit to their country might take place soon. The Greek-Catholic community of Belarus currently relies on a structure consisting of 20 parishes and pastoral centres in the country’s main cities, where pastoral care is provided for some 3,000 faithful. It is calculated that a further 2,000 Catholics live far away from their respective pastoral structures, in remote rural areas. In any case, at the present time the number of priests is insufficient to meet the growing needs, even though the situation ought to improve within a few years, given that 15 seminarians are currently being trained in the various seminaries in Ukraine and Poland. The task of ecclesiastical superior of the Greek-Catholics of Belarus is assigned to the delegate of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, Visitator “ad nutum Sanctae Sedis” archimandrite Sergio Gajek. The festivities of 13 July also officially marked the beginning of the jubilee celebrations in honour of St. Jehosaphat, due to take place in various cities; they will culminate in the liturgical feast of the saint on 12 November 2003. John Paul II, on the occasion of the recent “ad limina” visit of the bishops of Belarus to the Apostolic See (February 2003), recalled that the Belarussian Catholic community of Byzantine rite “is the heir of the mission of St. Jehosaphat” and that the country has put behind it the long period of the “systematic atheization of the population”, especially of the young, of the almost total destruction of ecclesiastical structures and of the forced closure of places of Christian formation”. The Pope then appealed to the Belarussian bishops to concentrate their efforts on formation in the values of the faith, of the family, of the protection and promotion of human life, and social and economic development. With its 10 million inhabitants, Belarus is experiencing a period of difficult and complex rapprochement with the rest of Europe. The Catholic ecclesiastical community comprises 4 dioceses, 400 parishes, 360 presbyteries of which 160 of Belrussian origin. There are also several hundred male and female religious in the country, most of them of foreign origin (especially Poles). In the two seminaries of Grodno and Pinsk some 150 seminarians are being trained for the priesthood, the situation is considered comforting for the future of the presence of the Catholic church in the country.