Mgr Lajolo's Moscow visit instills high hopes for Russia's Catholic Church

From our envoy - The Vatican Secretary for Relations with other States presided over a procession which packed the city streets to mark the end of the Year of the Eucharist. Mgr Kondrusiewicz's message for the pope: "Russian Catholics live off the Eucharist in anticipation of seeing you in Russia".

Moscow (AsiaNews) - "Every encounter brings hope, but this one with Russia has been a confirmation". Thus did Mgr Giovanni Lajolo, Vatican Secretary for Relations with other States, sum up his first visit to Russia. He was speaking to AsiaNews at the end of a four-day visit to Moscow, where he went on the invitation of the Russian Foreign Affairs Minister, Sergei Lavrov. The pope's "foreign affairs minister" described as "positive" meetings held with civil and Orthodox authorities. One meeting which stands out is that in Danilovskij monastery with Metropolitan Kirill, president of the external relations department of the Moscow Patriarchate. Already on the eve of his visit, Mgr Lajolo had talked about improving ties with the Moscow Patriarchate "even in view of bearing a needed shared witness to all Christians, in today's world, about evangelistic values".

But the most important meeting, in his view, was that with the community of the faithful: "The trip, and getting to know this community, have filled me with hope".

Before leaving, Mgr Lajolo presided over celebrations in the Cathedral to mark the end of the Year of the Eucharist in Moscow. Mass, attended by a congregation of nearly 1000 people, was celebrated in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Concelebrating with the pope's "foreign affairs minister" in Latin and Russian were the Moscow Archbishop Mgr Tadeus Kondrusiewicz, the nuncio in Russia, Mgr Antonio Mennini and some 30 local priests.

At the close of the celebration, Mgr Lajolo invited the Catholic community to "remain always united in faith and love for your bishop; to love, support and encourage each other".

In his homily, Mgr Lajolo focused on the theme of Moscow's Eucharistic Congress, "Eucharist and hope". The Vatican representative said the Eucharist is a source of hope for Catholics. There is a "vital link" between the Eucharist and hope; "the Eucharist is bread for the traveler", opening to us the perspective of eternal life; "the Eucharist gives us joy on our journey" and finally it is a "gift" for the shared Christian pilgrimage. The reference here is to the significant social role played by the Eucharist, which unites all who love Christ around it, paving the way for ecumenism.

At the end of the celebrations, Mgr Kondrusiewicz thanked Lajolo for "the work of dialogue with the state and the Orthodox Church". He entrusted the Vatican representative with a message for the pope: "The small Catholic community of Russia is living off the Eucharist in anticipation of seeing Benedict XVI in Russia".

In reply, Mgr Lajolo assured all that "Russia is in the prayers and intentions of the pope as much as China", about which Benedict XVI spoke frequently and decisively during the Synod. "Each country has a different situation and different ways of facing it".

• russia
• vatican
• ecumenism
• patriarchate
• orthodox
• lajolo
• pope