1.5 million Catholics out of a total population of approximately 9 million. These are the figures that emerge from a recent socio-religious survey which provided a statistical picture of Catholic Belarus today. A limited presence perhaps, but not an insignificant one if one bears in mind that in the recent past the structures of the Church were out of bounds to the faithful. The people of the former Soviet Republic of Belorussia were forced to cultivate their own faith in secret, within their own family. But in recent years there has been a revival of parish life, into which the religious life hitherto restricted to the domestic circle is gradually flowing. This slow revival was also accompanied by the birth, in the larger parishes, of some ecclesial movements, such as the “Light and Life Movement”, the “Legion of Mary”, “Renewal of the Spirit” and the Neo-Catechumenals. In the smaller parishes (with numbers of parishioners between 50 and 100), on the other hand, there exists only the group of ministrants and the parish choir. But this difference does not prevent the faithful from participating in diocesan or diaconal retreats, organized by the movements. Unfortunately, no type of organized volunteer service as yet exists in the country. But this does not prevent the faithful from showing charity to the poor, from visiting the sick, and from working in the family counselling services. As regards youth pastoral care, everything is still at its embryonal stage. Nonetheless this did not prevent a large number of youngsters from participating in the World Youth Days at Czestochowa, Paris and Rome. The first centres of spirituality for youth have also been established in recent years. At the present time there are only two Institutes of catechesis, involved in pastoral formation. The fact that their number is so small might be one of the reasons why young people from Belarus are abandoning Church life and embracing the sects, which are very active and well organized in the country. The parishes in the majority of cases are still in the developing phase; oratories and parish premises suitable for initiating young people in the life of the ecclesial community are lacking.
