Uzbekistan: the first Catholic bishop takes possession of his see in this Muslim country
The man is Jerzy Maculewicz: "My first mission is to watch and listen"; he also has plans for dialogue with Islam. In March, John Paul II elevated the missio sui iuris in Uzbekistan to an apostolic administration
Tashkent (AsiaNews) Christians in Uzbekistan have just celebrated a historic event: the country's first Catholic bishop, Mgr Jerzy Maculewicz, taking possession of his see. Last March, John Paul II elevated the missio sui iuris in Uzbekistan to an apostolic administration, appointing Maculewicz as the first bishop.
The ceremony of taking possession, attended by more than 500 people, took place on 26 June at the Sacred Heart Parish in the capital Tashkent. The following celebrated Mass together with the bishop: the apostolic nuncio of Kazakistan and central Asia, Mgr Josef Wesolowski, the archbishop of Astana (Kazakistan the only archdiocese in central Asia), Mgr Tomash Peta, bishop of Karaganda, Mgr John Pawel Lenga, Mgr Theophilus Howaniec, bishop of the Most Holy Trinity in Almaty and priests working in various Uzbek cities.
The ceremony was followed by a meeting: Bishops Lenga and Howaniec narrated the history of Catholicism in Kazakistan and referred to the current situation in their respective parishes. Fr Carlos Avila, who works in Tajikistan, shared a testimony of how Catholics there live.
The whole event culminated in a classical and contemporary music concert performed by the most famous Uzbek musicians in the Church of the Sacred Heart.
Maculewicz's first visit to central Asia dates back to 2001. Before his ordination as bishop, he was general assistant of the Conventual Franciscans' Order (OFMConv) for eastern Europe.
During the ceremony, the new bishop confessed to "having known already for a year about the possibility of setting up an apostolic administration in Uzbekistan, but I never imagined I would be the one to lead it, it is God who sent me here."
First on Mgr Maculewicz's list of priorities for mission is "watching and listening". "I have many plans, but it is too early to talk about them. In my first month, I intend to visit all the parishes to try to understand their realities," he said. The bishop's goals also include holding a meeting for all Catholic priests "to discuss a concrete plan of action for the year under way". A few days before the ceremony, Mgr Maculewicz expressed the desire to press ahead with profitable dialogue with the Muslim community, even through "a common project with the Islamic University of Tashkent".
The first Catholic parish in central Asia was set up during the soviet regime in 1987 in Fergana. Today the Catholic community of Tashkent numbers more than 500 faithful.There are five parishes in all of Uzbekistan: Tashkent, Fergana, Bukhara, Urgench and Samarkand, which also has a branch in Navoi.
In the capital, mass is celebrated in Russian, English and Korean. Earlier, the majority of believers were Russian-speaking; now the Catholic community is growing thanks to the local population.
Out of a population of 26,851,195 in Uzbekistan 88% adhere to the Muslim faith, mostly Sunnis, 9% are Russian Orthodox and the remaining 3% belong to various other religions. Christians number 4,000.
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07/02/2019 17:28
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