Budslaw’s shrine of the Assumption burns. Ancient icon of the Mother of God saved
The roof crashed into the central nave. Several icons, the organ and furnishings saved. Most importantly the precious icon of the Mother of God, painted in Rome and donated to the Belarusians by Pope Clement VIII in 1598, the most revered image for the Catholic Church in this region, is intact. A restoration campaign is launched.
Moscow (AsiaNews) - Yesterday, around 8 am, shortly before the start of Holy Mass, a fire broke out in the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Budslaw, the most beloved shrine of Belarusian Catholics.
According to witnesses, the fire started from the roof, which collapsed in the part of the central nave around 10 o'clock, before the firefighters managed to circumscribe and put out the fire, at around 15 in the afternoon. The Conference of Catholic Bishops of Belarus has appealed to all the faithful to help restore the church as soon as possible.
The parishioners and collaborators of the sanctuary were able to save the sacred images, the books, the small organ and other furnishings. Above all, the precious icon of the Mother of God was saved, painted in Rome and given to Belarusians by Pope Clement VIII in 1598, the most revered image by the Catholic Church in this region.
The Pope made this gift to congratulate the voevoda of Minsk, Jan Pats, on his return to Catholicism from Calvinism. The icon therefore symbolizes the loyalty to the Church of Rome on the part of the Catholics of this ancient territory of the kingdom of Poland-Lithuania, which then remained under the Russian and Soviet empires until freedom and independence in the last 30 years.
The pilgrimage in honour of the Assumption, in mid-August, is the greatest act of devotion of Catholics in Belarus, who come on foot from all over the country, but also from Poland, Lithuania and even Russia. The sanctuary, built in the early 1600s, is located in the diocese of Vitebsk, in the north-eastern part of the country on the border with Russia, where most of the believers are of Orthodox confession, and therefore represents an outpost of Catholicism on earth Russian.
The bishop of Vitebsk, suffragan of Minsk-Mogilev, Msgr. Oleg Budkevič, asked everyone to pray for the salvation of the Budslaw shrine, "which is not only the centre of our spiritual life, but also an exceptional monument of sacred art and architecture". In 1994, Pope John Paul II had awarded the church the title of minor basilica, and several times he had expressed the desire to be able to visit it. This trip was not possible due to the close relations with Russia. The pPpe confirmed his love for Belarus with the Apostolic letter Universae Bielorussiae in 1996, where he also remembered the basilica of Budslaw, and repeatedly sent his blessing to Belarusian Catholics, on the occasion of trips to Poland and the Baltic countries and visits of Belarusians pilgrims to Rome. (V.R.)
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