Hope is rekindled” “

A group of Russian pilgrims, led by Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusewicz, has been visiting Rome in recent days. It is their first meeting with the new Pope Benedict XVI and also an occasion to pray at the tomb of John Paul II. In the course of their pilgrimage, the Russian Catholics will participate in the general audience on 18 May, when they will have a chance to greet Benedict XVI in person, and to invite him to visit Russia. On the evening of 19 May, the Moscow group headed by Metropolitan Tadeusz Kondrusewicz has also been invited to participate in the adoration of the Holy Sacrament in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where the pilgrims of various countries will gather. During the eucharistic adoration some prayers will also be recited in Russian. FIRST MEETING WITH BENEDICT XVI. A group of Russian Catholics arrived in Rome on the evening of Monday 16 May. The pilgrimage is led by the archbishop of the Russian capital, Tadeusz Kondrusewicz. It will be the first meeting of a small delegation of Russian Catholics with the new Pope Benedict XVI, whom they will invite to visit Russia. It is also an occasion to pray at the tomb of John Paul II. The Russian pilgrims include parishioners from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad and elsewhere in Russia. The archbishop expressed the hope that “this first group of pilgrims will be followed by others, given that devotion to the late pope is growing in Russia”. “Unfortunately – he added – only a few people from Russia, for easily understandable reasons, were able to pay their last respects to the beloved pontiff by participating in his funeral on 8 April. The desire to pray at his tomb is so great that it was the faithful themselves who asked me to organize the pilgrimage. Exceptionally the first group of Russian pilgrims has been given permission to celebrate Holy Mass in the crypt of the basilica of St. Peter’s on Wednesday 18 May, on Karol Wojtyla’s birthday. IN MEMORY OF JOHN PAUL II. While the group of pilgrims is visiting Rome, a year dedicated to the memory of John Paul II will be officially proclaimed in the Muscovite archdiocese of the “Mother of God” on 18 May. The year in his memory will end on 18 May 2006. An exhibition of the photographer Gregorij Galonski devoted to the Pope will be held in all the parishes of the archdiocese in the course of the year. An exhibition of books of John Paul II translated into Russian will also be opened, and a series of academic conferences and various meetings held. The collection of testimonies of favours received by Russian Catholics for prayers addressed to John Paul II will also begin. Metropolitan Kondrusewicz has expressed the hope that Russian Catholics would warmly welcome this initiative, promoted by the laity. “The Pope, unfortunately, was unable to visit our country for reasons beyond our control”, he recalled. “The whole world however was the witness of his extraordinary love for Russia, and of his tireless efforts to promote dialogue and collaboration with the Russian Orthodox Church”, he added. “To pray together with the Holy Father, Russians were forced to go to neighbouring countries, to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. And wherever the Pope went in Eastern Europe, according to the eyewitness reports of the participants, it was possible to see, raised up among the throngs, Russian flags and banners with the slogan “Pope John Paul II, we’re waiting for you in Moscow!’. Unfortunately, we waited in vain for our beloved Pope, but we believe we have obtained a protector in heaven, who knows very well ‘the small flock’ of the Catholics in Russia, and who will know how to care for it and obtain from the Lord a multitude of graces for those who have kept and strengthened their own faith, and communicated it from generation to generation through the decades of persecution”, said Archbishop Kondrusewicz.