Card. Kasper reads the note from the Papal Council will go on a pilgrimage to Kazan, "a place dear to his heart", to worship the icon of the Virgin which he brought back to Russia himself in 2004, on behalf of the Servant of God Pope John Paul II. He should also visit the monastery of Diveevo, near Nizhniy Novgorod, dedicated to Saint Seraph of Sarov, which is particularly loved by the Russian people. The purpose of the trip, as well as Cardinal Kasper’s personal meeting with the Catholic community in Moscow and the leaders of Russian Orthodoxy, is also to come into contact with the religious and cultural heritage of the Russian tradition.
